Maritime UK Week spotlight: meet Stewart Mackay, Captain of the RRS Discovery

For Maritime UK Week, we are sharing a recent video interview with Stewart Mackay, Captain of the RRS Discovery, who gives fascinating insight into his journey to becoming a captain, how a Royal Research Ship is run and some of his favourite memories at sea.

The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) provides world leading facilities to the whole UK marine research community through the National Marine Equipment Pool (NMEP), the largest centralised marine scientific equip­ment pool in Europe.

The NMEP includes two Royal Research ships, the RRS Discovery and the RRS James Cook, which enable the science community to explore the most remote and challenging areas of the ocean.

This exploration wouldn’t be possible without the NOC’s mariners, who dedicate long periods of time at sea, supporting a vast range of ocean science programmes and exciting technology developments.