I am delighted to announce that we will be holding Maritime Safety Week 2019 from 1 – 5 July and am writing to ask again for your support to build on last year’s great success. We cannot do this alone and it is your engagement in promoting both the week and its purpose through any channels available to you that makes the difference.

In 2018, I announced the inaugural Maritime Safety Week. Our aim was to introduce a specific week targeted at safety issues which brings the industry together and provides a focus to highlight all the fantastic work that is already being done on a daily basis to ensure the safety of our seas and inland waterways.

The response from all sectors was truly amazing and exceeded all expectations. I would like to thank you all for your active participation and the opportunity to visit many of you has given me an even deeper understanding of the importance of the work that you do every day.

The UK already sets the standard in ensuring the wide variety of people who use and enjoy our waters for business or pleasure can do so in safety. However, the marine environment continues to pose significant risks and there is always more to be done to explain the dangers and keep people out of harm’s way.

That is why a successful Maritime Safety Week 2019, with your support, is so important. My objectives for the week are:

• to recognise and highlight all the excellent safety work that already goes on across the Maritime sector;
• to provide an opportunity to focus on some specific challenges that the sector faces, such as those considered at last year’s fishing safety round table, and what is being done to tackle them;
• to facilitate the sharing of knowledge, experience and best practice; and
• to capitalise on the momentum created by last year’s Maritime Safety Week by reiterating key safety messages.

Ultimately, my ambition through this year’s Maritime Safety Week and beyond is to support the reduction of preventable deaths in waters in the UK and I will be announcing some new safety initiatives throughout the week to bring that vision closer to reality.

I intend to exploit social media to help ensure our ambitions for the week are met and would be grateful, once again, for your help in amplifying the key messages. To assist I attach the Maritime Safety Week logo and would ask that you use the hashtags #maritimesafetyweek and #maritimesafetymatters throughout the week and beyond.

I have an exciting programme of events and visits planned for Maritime Safety Week and am looking forward to seeing even more fine examples of safety work. I know there will be other activity occurring simultaneously, so please let us know your plans via Maritimesafety@dft.gov.uk to ensure we capture everything which is happening.

I would like to take this opportunity to offer my personal thanks in advance for your assistance in making Maritime Safety Week 2019 a success!