Passenger shipping into the next decade\u00a0brings together Fran Collins, chief executive officer of Red Funnel; Louisa Bell, chief commercial officer, Passenger, at P&O Ferries; and Donnacha O\u2019Driscoll, executive vice president Maritime & Sustainability at Carnival UK, moderated by Andy Harmer, managing director for the UK and Ireland at CLIA.<\/p>\n
The discussion will open with the customer: how expectations around onboard experience, accessibility and sustainability are shifting as operators reach new and younger audiences and why sustainability now means far more than it has previously. Panellists will explore what genuine progress looks like across decarbonisation, destinations and people, and how operators balance rising expectations against commercial pressures that are making it harder, and more expensive, to do business.<\/p>\n
Expect a frank conversation about the enablers. Electrification ambitions collide with grid connections that do not yet exist and some of the highest electricity prices in Europe. Fleet-renewal programmes collide with the reality that building in UK yards remains commercially unviable, despite the national appetite for shipbuilding, skills and apprenticeships. The panel will set out what a genuinely joined-up policy environment would look like… and what industry is prepared to bring to the table in return.<\/p>\n
There is a positive story to tell, too. Ferry and cruise generate jobs, investment and a tourism halo effect across the UK\u2019s coastal and island communities, feeding one of the country\u2019s largest export earners. The session will close on the sector\u2019s shared priority: attracting young people as both customers and as the next generation of maritime talent.<\/p>\n
The panel forms part of a full day of keynotes, breakouts and networking, bringing together the leadership of UK maritime at Shipping UK, delivered by the UK Chamber of Shipping in partnership with Riviera Maritime Media.<\/p>\n
Shipping UK\u00a0takes place on 6 October 2026 at the QEII Centre, Westminster, hosted by the UK Chamber of Shipping in partnership with Riviera Maritime Media. This must-attend event will bring together global industry leaders, key stakeholders, UK and international policymakers and sector experts in the heart of Westminster for a day of insight and debate on the industry\u2019s future. Tickets are available via the following\u00a0link<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Passenger shipping into the next decade\u00a0brings together Fran Collins, chief executive officer of Red Funnel; Louisa Bell, chief…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":101964,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[5,6],"class_list":["post-101963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uk","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/117082340957350811","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101963\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}