When Mark Arnold, 26, stepped up to collect the award for overall excellence at a recent oil and gas industry event in Aberdeen he said he hoped it would inspire other young people.
He was nominated by Aberdeen company Craig Group for his outstanding ability to drive both his own professional development and that of his shipping cadets, plus for his contribution to improving safety and maintenance-management programmes.
Arguably his most impressive achievement was being the youngest master mariner to take control of a platform supply vessel in UK waters, having begun his career as a cadet at 17.
Captain Arnold is now master of the Grampian Explorer supply vessel, owned and operated by Craig Group subsidiary North Star Shipping (Aberdeen).
Many long-serving sailors reckon the sea is “in their blood” and that they have no choice but to follow their calling.
Capt Arnold is no different, because he never considered any other career and has from an early age believed a life at sea to be his destiny.
After winning the honour at the Oil and Gas UK (OGUK) Awards earlier this month, he said it proved work at sea could be both fulfilling and worthwhile.
The North Sea oil and gas sector needs a steady stream of new mariners to meet its shipping needs in future generations and MR Arnold’s achievements have helped to highlight the opportunities and rewards available for young people who take up a career in the Merchant Navy.
Despite his young age, Capt Arnold already has a decade of seagoing experience.
He said: “I’ve been working in this industry for almost 10 years now. I began my cadetship with North Star Shipping when I was 17.”
On his OGUK award, he said: “Being recognised in this way is definitely the highlight of my career so far and it shows that hard work and commitment will always pay off if you really apply yourself.”
He was just 14 when he took his first official seaman’s exam but the real turning point in his life came at 17, when North Star offered to sponsor him through his cadetship.
The Aberdeen firm’s support helped him to fulfil his dream of following in the footsteps of his grandfather, John Reeveley, who owned and skippered fishing vessels out of Scarborough.
Capt Arnold, who was born at a British hospital in Germany during one of his father’s postings with the Army, said: “I can’t stress enough what this opportunity meant to me, because it was something I had dreamed of all my life.
“The North Star cadet programme is one of the most prestigious schemes in the UK. I knew I was going to have to work hard and make a full commitment to the course to realise my ambitions to become a first-class mariner.”
“We now have 76 cadets being trained in the North Star programme.
“Many of these will go directly into service on a vessel that supports the UK oil and gas industry, so this is a vital channel in bringing new talent forward for the sector.”
Capt Arnold’s own cadetship meant spending three years at Fleetwood Nautical Campus (FNC), part of Blackpool and The Fylde College, where he completed some challenging academic studies and gained valuable seafaring experience.
He also met his wife, Katie, at FNC – she qualified as a second officer.
The couple got married in 2006 and now have a four-year-old daughter, Zoe.
By age 20, Capt Arnold was a fully qualified second mate working on the Grampian Explorer in the North Sea.
He quickly learned valuable lessons about the forces of nature and the skills needed to carry out challenging search-and-rescue missions, often in stormy waters.
He left the Explorer to go back to FNC to study for more qualifications testing his knowledge on the rules of the sea, international law and how to deal with real-life situations he could face at the helm of a ship.
He passed his chief officer and master’s exams and then headed straight back to sea, this time on North Star’s Grampian Talisman.
It was while he was on shore leave in April this year that he got the unexpected offer to take command of his own ship. Despite his relatively young age, he has demonstrated a natural ability to lead and takes a real interest in his vessel and crew’s safety and wellbeing.
He is also not shy of coming forward with new ideas, which will have undoubtedly impressed the judges at the OGUK Awards.
One innovation he is especially proud of is a shipmates’ “toolbox talk” checklist, which has since been adapted and added to North Star’s fleet-wide safety-management system.
The system encourages crew to gather before a task and run through how they are going to carry it out in a safe manner. Capt Arnold also introduced a cabin-specific induction handbook, containing safety and other information for crew members on each vessel.
He counts his ability to look at problems in a new way as one of his most useful skills.
He said: “Because I have been on vessels most of my life I tend to see things differently to other people.
“I can often quickly turn a problem into an asset just by applying my seaman’s knowledge.
“This is the type of thing that you can only learn through clocking up long hours at sea and listening and learning from mariners that are more experienced than you.”
Capt Arnold is also in charge of training cadets on the Grampian Explorer and has created a tailored training scheme based on the qualities he feels are essential to being a good mariner.
Although ships have come a long way technically over the last century, he believes it is important for the tried and trusted maritime skills of yesteryear to be passed on to future generations.
He insists that his cadets learn to work without the modern devices and systems they could easily develop an over-reliance on.
He said: “I don’t allow them to use any electronic aid on the bridge for navigation until they can manage without them.
“I believe that it is important for mariners to retain old skills that are at risk of being lost to the industry.
“It is essential that cadets are taught the foundations of navigation, so that if technology fails they have a base to fall back on.”
Capt Arnold also insists on a hands-on approach by his cadets to instil in them an appreciation of the work done by others on their vessel. This requirement means they must, for example, take part in deck cargo operations.
Capt Arnold hopes his achievements will spur younger men and women to consider the “exciting and worthwhile” career opportunities at sea.
He said: “Life at sea can be hard work and sometimes there is an element of danger, but no two days are ever the same. There is a great chance to travel around the world and the skills that you learn as a mariner, such as leadership and dependability, can be of benefit to you for the rest of your life.
“I can’t think of any other job that offers such diversity. It is definitely a different way of life to the normal nine-to-five career choice.”
Capt Arnold’s love of the sea is not confined to his job; he and his family spend much of their leisure time surfing or pottering about in small dinghies.
Daughter Zoe already has her “sea legs” and is showing signs she may one day emulate great-grandfather Reeveley, who achieved a lifetime goal by sailing single-handedly around the UK.
“Zoe definitely has the bug,” said Capt Arnold, “she just loves the sea.”
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