Home | Williams Shipping welcomes the Lord Mayor of Southampton aboard Willfreedom

2nd October 2026

Williams Shipping welcomes the Lord Mayor of Southampton aboard Willfreedom

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Williams Shipping was pleased to welcome The Right Worshipful Lord Mayor of Southampton aboard Willfreedom for a trip around Southampton’s marina and docks, offering an opportunity to experience the city’s busy maritime environment from the water. 

Joining the Lord Mayor for the visit were Philip Williams, Managing Director of Williams Shipping; Ulla Williams, Accounting Assistant at Williams Shipping and Honorary Secretary of the Southampton Shipowners Association; Tom Karsenbarg of Graypen and Chairman of the Southampton Shipowners Association; Anna Wright, Marketing Assistant at Williams Shipping and Steve Evemy, The Lord Mayor’s Consort. 

Willfreedom

Departing aboard one of our marine vessels, the visit took in Southampton’s marina and dock areas, where commercial shipping, port operations and marine activity form an important part of the city’s identity. 

For Williams Shipping, these waters are also a familiar working environment. Our Marine division supports a wide range of operations in Southampton, the Solent and further afield, with a versatile fleet of vessels and experienced crews providing practical marine support for customers across a variety of projects.

The trip aboard Willfreedom gave the Lord Mayor an opportunity to experience part of this working environment first-hand and gain a closer view of the activity taking place throughout the port.

It also provided an opportunity to talk about Williams Shipping’s marine operations, our connection with Southampton and the broad range of work carried out by our teams on and around the water.

The Right Worshipful Lord Mayor of Southampton (right), The Lord Mayors Consort (left)

From vessel charter and marine transport to supporting port, construction and specialist marine projects, our fleet is equipped to work across a diverse range of requirements. Alongside the vessels themselves, the experience and local knowledge of our crews are an important part of delivering safe, reliable and efficient marine operations.

With a history in Southampton stretching back more than 130 years, Williams Shipping has developed alongside the city’s maritime industry. Today, our Southampton base remains at the heart of our Marine operations, with our vessels regularly working across Southampton Water, the Solent and beyond.

We were delighted to have the opportunity to welcome the Lord Mayor aboard Willfreedom and share a closer look at both Southampton’s maritime landscape and the work of our Marine team.

  • I just wanted to say thank you – it was a very challenging site to work at and make delivery to. Your drivers showed courtesy, patience and professionalism throughout the day

    Philip Kingston,
    Kingston Building Solutions

  • Thank you for your assistance, it was very much appreciated and a special thank you to Bob who did a fantastic job.

    Jenny Wilkinson,
    Interserve Defence Ltd

  • We are very happy with the service provided by your company, especially the driver and we will be using your company for any future work.

    Bob Sarkar,
    National Gritting Service

  • I would like to personally thank you, as a company, and every one of your drivers for their professional approach to the deliveries to our site, all of your drivers have been absolutely fantastic.

    Andy Jenner,
    EP Renewable Energies Limited

  • On Behalf of the Environment Agency and the Residents of Romsey and Winchester, I would like to convey our warmest gratitude for the support you provided during recent flooding. Without you we would not have been able to respond as quickly or effectively as we did.

    James A Humphrys,
    Environment Agency

  • We would like to thank yourself and your team at Williams Shipping for all your help last week, your team were great at getting us around and in position where and when we needed to be in spite of some rotten weather.

    Cliff Stonestreet,
    Fully Fused Fireworks Worldwide Event Management

  • Thank you very much for your assistance and I have to say the two crew members on the vessel could not have been more helpful.

    Steve Beck,
    Burgess Marine

  • May I take this opportunity to thank you for an excellent service, could you also please pass on my thanks to all of your skippers who have helped us over the past few weeks.

    Gwyn Goforth,
    Svitzer UK