Category Archives: General

Incorporated by Royal Charter, we are a City of London Livery Company with membership open to British and Commonwealth Master Mariners from the Merchant and Royal Navies. The Honourable Company of Master Mariners was founded by Sir Robert Burton-Chadwick, Bt  in 1926. … Continue reading →

Why on earth do well-found ships, properly manned by certificated officers and crews, manage to run aground or collide, in circumstances that seem to defy rational explanation? There seems little excuse, in an era when circling satellites provide all the … Continue reading →

Collisions in Suez Canal Taken from Lloyds List 18 July 2018 It is not yet clear in full detail what happened, and how, in Suez Canal, probably later more details will come up. It was a major accident, which involved … Continue reading →

Press reports from Sydney, NSW this week describe distressed residents hearing a ships whistle every 2 minutes which kept them awake one morning this week when Sydney was covered by a thick blanket of fog. Many misinterpreted it as a … Continue reading →

This article highlights once again the paucity of good ergonomic standard bridge design often influenced by well meaning navel architects, salesmen of bridge equipment or retired naval officers who have had no or little practical experience in keeping a bridge … Continue reading →

By Captain Paul E. Lobo – As a retired Lieutenant-Commander in the US Naval Reserve, and a San Francisco bar pilot with over 31 years’ experience, I find the recent collisions of US Navy vessels and the resulting loss of life disheartening … Continue reading →

By Captain John Konrad (gCaptain) Every ship, regardless of nationality or purpose, is required to carry one terse book. This book is titled the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions but is better known by its acronym “COLREGS”. The chapters are short … Continue reading →

In the same bit of sea from Lloyds List 19 Jun 2017 Micheal Grey AMID all the larger tragedies in recent days, the fatal collision between the US warship USS Fitzgerald and the containership ACX Crystal, 56 miles off the … Continue reading →

This year marks the centenary of the sinking of the NZ Shipping Company vessel OTAKI which ultimately resulted in the senior boy from the Master’s old school – Robert Gordon College, Aberdeen – being taken to New Zealand and return … Continue reading →