 After hearing all the tales of the Merchant Navy from my older brother, I was adamant that when I left school I was going to find out for myself. I started my Cadetship with Shell in 1997 at South Tyneside College and it was not long before I had joined my first ship and was sailing all round the world gaining experience on a wide range of vessels including very large crude tankers, small product tankers, LNG and LPG carriers. I completed my Cadetship in July 2000, achieving my Officer of the Watch Certificate of Competency and at the age of 20, I had joined a newly built LNG carrier in my first trip as Third Officer and in control of my own navigational watch. Continuing to sail around the world and visiting some of the most amazing places, I was soon promoted to Second Officer and requested the opportunity to attend a ‘Dynamic Positioning’ training program from the wide range of further training courses offered by Shell. Having gained this certificate, I then served on Shell’s shuttle tankers in the North Sea, loading offshore operating the Dynamic Positioning systems onboard. In April 2003 it was back to college at Glasgow this time for three months to study for my Chief Mates Certificate. After successfully passing it was back to sea for one more trip before I was offered a secondment through the Shell Open Resource system to the vetting department in the London office. I am now a member of the Safe Team assisting in the day-to-day vetting of other vessels out with the Shell fleet that are carrying Shell cargoes or visiting Shell terminals. This opportunity has allowed me to take part in inspections of vessels operated by other companies and to gain a broader perspective on the range of different vessels trading around the world today. On completion of this secondment, it will be time to return to the fleet in order to hopefully one day get my command as Master but at the age of only 24 and having already done so much with so many opportunities within Shell, who knows what’s around the corner!
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