On Merchant Navy Day (3 September) we celebrate the seafarers working far from home in jobs that are vital to the UK’s national and global networks of supply and transportation.
The crews of the commercial shipping industry have a proud record: carrying goods and people around the world in peacetime while sacrificing lives during conflict, famously on the Atlantic convoys hunted by U-Boats in the Second World War.
Two people who fully understand its importance are Karen McCartney-Clarke and Josh Dearing, both with years of experience in the Merchant Navy.
Today they are colleagues at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), putting to good use that well-earned knowledge and understanding.
Karen is a Senior SEO Surveyor (Nautical), based in Glasgow; Josh is an Examiner of Masters and Mates, working from Beverley, near Hull.
In their current roles supporting the Merchant Navy, they both strive in different ways to keep seafarers safe, working in good conditions, and developing rewarding careers.
For 15 years, Karen worked on a variety of vessels, following in the footsteps of her radio officer father: general cargo, Ro-Ro, tankers, bulk carriers, ferries, passenger vessels and high-speed craft.
After a brief spell ashore working as a ship’s agent, she rose through the ranks to become Master and later in her career ashore worked in maritime education, which included teaching seafarers of all ranks from cadet through to Master.
As a Surveyor since 2020, she now visits vessels and companies to ensure their safety, checking standards are met and crews are being looked after properly.
Karen said: “The experience of having been in the Merchant Navy on a variety of different ship types is invaluable. I spent a lot of time at sea and it becomes your home, so you bring everything you have learned with you.
“We are regulators at the MCA but we can also appreciate the challenges crews face on board. I feel I am a better surveyor with my broader base of understanding.”
She added: “What’s been delightful for me is that as surveyor I have come across so many of the people I taught over the years – men and women – who are now officers and Masters at sea as well as managers and superintendents ashore. It shows there are many different career pathways.”
She praised the Merchant Navy, saying: “It keeps the goods flowing round the world. It keeps economies going and businesses going. The Merchant Navy is hugely important to the UK as an island nation – but also globally.”
Josh was first employed in the maritime industry with a ferry operator, starting in 2006 as a UK deck cadet and working his way through the UK certification structure to Master Mariner Unlimited.
“The camaraderie in the Merchant Navy was always very high and I adored it,” he recalls. “It’s almost like having family on board; everybody is in it together. I’m proud to have been part of it.”
As an MCA Examiner since 2023, he knows how important the qualifications are to the men and woman he assesses during the oral exams – as well as the value of his recent industry experience.
Josh said: “I can put myself in their position. During the exams I am not easily led, due to my experience being current. But also I can put candidates at ease and present real experiences and situations for them to answer.”
With his colleagues, Josh also ensures that seafarer training within the UK and overseas is meeting the requirements of both the UK and international standards while working in partnership with industry.
He added: “We live on an island, and the Merchant Navy is our lifeline.”
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