A chartered master mariner, Younger Brother of Trinity House in London and a Fellow of the Nautical Institute, he commenced his maritime career in 1973.
Following eighteen years of a commercial seafaring career during which he progressed from cadet to master specialising in petrochemicals, he joined the Port of London Authority as a pilot in 1991 and retired in December 2019. He held various pilotage related positions with the PLA including VTS port controller and pilot simulator training lead.
During his pilotage career he held the posts of Chairman of the United Kingdom Maritime Pilots’ Association and its Secretary General. During much of the same period he was a Technical Adviser to the executive management committee of the International Maritime Pilots’ Association (IMPA).
He also represented IMPA in various PIANC working groups, researching and producing reports on: the design of Harbour Approach channels; the integrity Maritime Simulators; Impacts of ships on fixed structures, Climate Change Adaptation planning for ports and Impacts of ships on fixed structures.
In addition to advisory work with a number of high level commercial bodies, he has held a number of posts with organisations engaged in training pilots world-wide. A long standing member of the CHIRP MAB, he is also a member of the MASRWG and the MCA chaired MASSpeople group.
Most recently he is volunteering with the charity Mercy Ships as a fund-raising speaker, awareness ambassador and maritime adviser to the UK management office, focussing on building relationships between the charity and the UK maritime community at all levels.