Tyneside sets up shipbuilding design centre

A £2.3 million International Marine Design Centre is expected to open in Newcastle, UK, next month after regional development agency One Northeast agreed to back a project. It is hoped the centre will help bring in £100million of new contracts into the marine and defence sectors by 2016.

The centre will provide facilities for local firms to carry out project work under one roof.

It will be the first of its type in the country and will be staffed by three full-time industry professionals and allow companies to place up to 40 designers at any one time into the centre. It is also hoped North-East firms can pool their resources to help win large contracts.

Ray Thompson, One Northeast Marine Sector Specialist, said: “It will become an internationally recognised centre of excellence to showcase the North East’s marine design skills and technology. Our region is still rich in marine design skills which are highly valued around the world. We have suffered in recent years through a decline in the fabrication of ships – but the design skills are still here and we want to provide a focal point for the companies to win new work.”

Potential projects could include work on the Royal Navy’s two new aircraft carriers and contracts in civil and naval markets such as Australia, Malaysia and China. Business development company Northern Defence Industries (NDI) will run the centre and will link closely with Newcastle University’s School of Marine and Science and Technology.

There are around 20 companies working in the North-East marine sector working on everything from hull design to internal components such as accommodation modules and machinery.

Trevor Harrison, managing director at NDI, said: “For the region’s marine design businesses, the centre will provide them with an influential route to market that will give them access to major clients – and major opportunities.” One North-East is providing the project with £1.5million of funding while private sector contributions and revenue generated by the project will meet the rest of the centre’s running costs over its first three years.