Seawork 2026 has welcomed the Scottish Maritime Cluster for the first time this year, bringing three of its members - Dales Marine Services, Clyde Marine Training and Zelim - to Europe’s largest commercial marine exhibition.
The Scottish Maritime Cluster (SMC) is the collective voice of Scotland’s maritime sector, bringing together industry, ports, shipbuilding, engineering, education, innovation and maritime services to support sustainable growth and long-term prosperity.
Established in 2016 and originally funded by Scottish Enterprise and later by Transport Scotland, the organisation has grown rapidly to 50 members and now represents a diverse range of organisations across the region. It is now large enough to operate entirely independently with two full times members of staff.
Scottish Maritime Cluster’s Executive Director, Brian Fulton explained a little more about what the organisation does and why it’s so relevant for Seawork, “When people ask what the Scottish Maritime Cluster does, we’re able to talk confidently about the diversity of our membership and maritime experience. There's always a member that will be of interest, whether it's education and training, ship management, vessel building, design, ferries, forts; we're right across the whole spectrum.”
The organisation has quickly found its feet during its inaugural Seawork as Fulton continued, “This is the first time we've been here and it's the perfect size for us.
“We’ve already seen it’s great value for us. There are lots of contacts we’ve been speaking to and a very broad spectrum of visitors and exhibitors. We've got three members with us this year, so we'll report back to the rest of the membership.
“Next year we’re thinking we may come down with 10 of our members and build on it from there, perhaps with a bigger stand. The goal for the cluster was really to see the value of Seawork for our members and I think we’ve achieved that. It’s been exciting for us to be here and we’ll definitely be back.”
