Geography/Geology (BA Hons)
I work for British Petroleum as an Officer of the Watch with responsibility for navigating the ship, including passage planning, chart and publication corrections. Among my responsibilities is the loading/unloading of the ship under the direction of the Chief Officer in cargo operations (the cargo could be crude oil or oil products such as unleaded petrol). I am one of the Satefy Officers onboard, helping to maintain safety, completing safety inspections and chairing monthly Health and Safety meetings. I look after lifesaving appliances, such as lifeboats, the rescue boat, lifejackets and immersion suites.
I joined the university when it was Cheltenham & Gloucester College of Higher Education back in 1998 to study Geography and Geology – a teacher at my secondary school had recommended the college because of its good reputation. My realistic aim at the time was to gain a 2:1 honours degree and when I got my results in 2001, I was pleased to see that I had achieved that. I took some modules which were relevant to my workplace now, such as meteorology, oil and gas and GIS (Geographical Information System). GIS is a very important part of life at sea because radars, GPS and Gyro compasses are used to navigate the ship and in collision avoidance.
During my time at college, I did scuba diving and, believe it or not, this contributed to my decision to go to sea. On a diving day out at Plymouth Harbour, I saw a Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker moored to a buoy. I was originally from Sunderland and seeing ships being built also led to my decision to go for a cadetship with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary as a Deck Officer. I started my cadetship in 2002, qualified in 2005 and joined BP in 2007.