Despite a lack of direct policy from the newly elected Labour government in their manifesto, there is still plenty for those in the maritime and offshore sectors to digest from the new government's policies especially in the areas of offshore energy and marine conservation.

Firstly, Labour is promising to quadruple offshore wind generation by 2030. In order to achieve this ambitious target, continued investment in the construction and offshore infrastructure sectors will be necessary. An expansion in construction facilities along with undersea infrastructure will be required if they wish to quadruple our offshore wind output. This should have a positive impact on the chartering, supply, and related services to the offshore energy industry as it will ensure continued investment and expansion of the industry and its sub-sectors.

Another promise from the Labour party's manifesto is the promise to create a mandatory biodiversity net gain policy across all developments on land and sea. This means any construction project must not diminish the areas biodiversity figures. Details on how this is to be achieved is sparse. However, this could be at odds with the increased expansion of offshore wind generation, given the manufacturing process may cause some disruption to marine biodiversity, as the development of new offshore windfarms and laying of subsea cables will have an impact in some shape or form. Further details are not yet known; however, it will be interesting to see how Labour balances the competing interests.

Contributor to this article were Michael Davidson.