THE great and the good of the marine industry have been honoured in Southampton.

As part of the annual Seawork International Conference, around 300 people packed The Vestry to enjoy a glitzy awards evening.

The overall winner on the night was Gobbler Boats, who picked up both the Vessel Design & Construction Award for its Gobbler Offshore 290 and the Seawork Spirit of Innovation trophy.

Bollard Load Testing picked up the Marine Civil Engineering and Construction prize while Dynamic Load Monitoring won the Marine Equipment, Electronic & Materials award for its Acoustic Load Shackle.

After more than 1,000 votes cast via Seawork’s Facebook page, 3Si Maritime Professional of the Year was Anne Hornigold, chief executive of 54 North Maritime Training.

The category for Safety and Training was won by 54 North Maritime Training for its Apprenticeships in Maritime Studies – Workboats course.

Fairlocks Pool Products won the Diving and Underwater gong for its Nemo Underwater Drill and the Power & Propulsion went to MDS Marine for its OXE Diesel.

Ms Hornigold has been involved in the marine industry for 13 years, training both apprentices and adults.

Nominator Andrew Hodgson said: “Working closely with the MCA, the Maritime Skills Alliance, National Workboat Association and Trinity House, to name but a few, Anne is recognised for the establishment of excellence in maritime safety training, initially in the fishing industry, and latterly in the workboat industry. 54 North Maritime Training, under Anne’s guidance, has received many quality and excellence awards.”

Meanwhile the lifetime achievement award went to Peter Nelmes, marine business manager at ZF Services UK, who has been with the company for 20 years.

His manager, Glenn Ayres, defence and rail business manager at ZF Services, said: “Peter has been the driving force behind our development of our Marine business, his understanding of the markets we are in, and the depth of knowledge of our product range is unrivalled and to a large extent irreplaceable.”

Seawork International ends today.