Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency, has awarded grants to the Team Humber Marine Alliance to increase business growth, employment and prosperity by identifying business leads for members and expanding its networking role.

Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary and local MP, spoke at an event staged by the group in Hull yesterday.

Speaking afterwards, he told the Yorkshire Post: "Our problem in the past has been that nobody has thought of Hull as a centre for marine engineering. When big contracts were floating around, other parts of the country like the North East and South Wales were the obvious places to go.

"We have had these skills close to home and pretty disparately spread between smaller businesses but with no overarching body to go out and make sure we exploit them."

The alliance said the funding will be used to help firms bid for contracts and in marketing and business development support. It will also underwrite sector-specific events.

The alliance has more than 60 member companies, which employ more than 1,800 people. It said the alliance can help members seek large or complex projects that would normally be awarded outside the region.

Rob Langton, the managing director of member company MMS Ship Repair, said: "The marine sector in the Humber supports many hundreds of jobs but despite all the experience and expertise, we are missing out on major contracts due to low awareness and the fact that smaller companies have less marketing experience and smaller budgets.

"The alliance allows us to collaborate, bid confidently and take a more strategic approach." Mr Johnson said the prospects for Humber's maritime industry are good.

He added: "Ship repair plants and marine engineering companies tell me 'recession, what recession'. They are focused on renewables, Ministry of Defence contracts, inland waterways and nuclear power."

The alliance was founded 15 years ago.