Mersey Maritime donates to new £40,000 centre for seafarers in Liverpool.

Mersey Maritime, the representative body of the maritime cluster in the North West of England has raised almost £5000 for Liverpool Seafarers Centre (LSC) through its annual Industry Awards dinner.

Mersey Maritime presented John Wilson, Chief Executive Officer from the charity, with a cheque for £4687 at the After-Show Drinks Reception held for the winners of Mersey Maritime Industry Awards (MMIAs) 2017, following a charity raffle it held on the night.

The money raised went towards the outfitting of a new £40,000 centre, which will work in partnership with the charity’s headquarters at Colonsay House in Crosby to provide support to the 50,000 seafarers who pass through Merseyside’s ports each year.

The new centre is located at Queen Elizabeth II Dock in Ellesmere Port at the entrance to the Manchester Ship Canal and was officially opened on 19 April.

Chris Shirling-Rooke, Chief Executive of Mersey Maritime, said: “We were very happy to be able to hand over the money we raised at this year’s MMIAs to the Liverpool Seafarers Centre at our Drinks Reception. Our third MMIAs was a huge success – the best yet - and I would like to thank everyone who took part in the raffle we held on the night to enable to us to make this donation to John. The view over the River Mersey from the 14th floor of RSM’s offices, where we made the presentation, provided a stunning backdrop. We are also grateful to RSM for hosting the event.”

Welcoming the cheque, Mr Wilson said: “We were delighted to be Mersey Maritime’s chosen charity at this year’s Industry Awards dinner and are grateful to Mersey Maritime and its members for making this generous donation towards the new centre. The working life of a seafarer is a hard and, at times, dangerous one. Seafaring can be a lonely and isolating job and crew frequently do not have people to talk to. We provide that helping hand and ensure that the Port of Liverpool and the maritime industry on Merseyside maintain its reputation as a friendly caring port.”

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