When we started this podcast we said we were keen to share the stories of people working in the maritime industry and this edition does just that.

There can't be many people who've worked at sea for over five decades and enjoyed the variety of roles as our guest this month has.

Tony Cowell went to see when he was just 3! A Fleetwood fisherman for many years, he followed his father and grandfather into the challenging trade. Injury forced him to look for another role and for 21 years he was captain of the vital ferry service linking the Lancashire port with Knott End. A former coxswain of Fleetwood lifeboat, Tony might have hung up his ferry captain's hat but he remains chair of the RNLI in Fleetwood.

In this feature length edition as well as hearing from Tony Alistair and Nigel horizon scan to take a look at some of the stories making the maritime news.

And we've more words from a nautical background that are now in everyday use.

If you'd like to suggest a guest or would be interested in sponsoring an episode, get in touch - we'd love to hear from you!

Enjoy the podcast.

If you live in the UK and are in need of a TV entertainment suggestion for the festive season why not try Coastguard: Search and Rescue SOS a hit Channel 5 documentary series?

The documentary follows first-hand the lifesaving work carried out across the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) from rescues way out in the Atlantic to cliff-top recoveries.

Stories are told from the perspective of helicopter crews and investigators to surveyors and counter pollution officers, and include collisions, daring sea saves, and maritime emergencies filmed across the UK's varied sea areas and coastlines.

One of the people who film and produce the series is journalist Andy Smythe. He's been telling Alistair and Nigel more about the variety of work he and the production team witnessed.

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Show notes:

To watch all episodes

We're back in the UK after our trip to the Ferry Shipping Summit in Sweden (enjoy five episodes from there!) and for this episode of the podcast we hear from from two very different ports.

While we were in Malmo we spoke to Andrew Williamson, the Head of Cruise and Ferry at Portsmouth International Port. Next year the port marks its 50th birthday and is very much part of the community in an area that has long standing links with the maritime world.

He tells us how Portsmouth is developing and offers an insight into how they invest and innovate for the future.

In this edition we also meet Matthew Burdekin who is deputy harbour master at the Port of Lancaster in Lancashire. A port since 1750, as Matthew tells us, it's ideally positioned to cater for a wide range of loads.

Thanks to both Andrew and Matthew for talking to the podcast.

Show notes:

Setting the scene with Alistair and Nigel

3 mins Andrew Williamson tells us how Portsmouth has developed as a ferry hub.

4 minutes Ports or ferry companies; who takes the risk?

5 minutes Who owns the port of Portsmouth?

7 minutes How to spread the word about opportunities within the industry?

8 minutes To the Port of Lancaster where we meet Matthew Burdekin, deputy harbour master, for a look back at the history of a port that's existed since 1750!

15 minutes Onto West Quay to hear more about Lancaster's hopes for the future.

19 minutes How ships arrive at this riverside, tidal port.

22 minutes We summarise our visit and look ahead to the next episode of the Full Ahead podcast.

At this year’s Ferry Shipping Summit in Malmo the theme was ‘Cutting-Edge Ferries Future Ready Ports' and in this final, bumper episode recorded in Sweden we look to the future.

One of the recurring themes was ‘digital’ while Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how it can be adopted to smooth the journey for freight and passengers was another common discussion point.

In this episode we hear from Henrik Lindqvist of Orbyt Global AB, Kadri Haufe of Nortal and Maddy Bosch of Brock Solutions who explain how tech is making transport smoother.

Anders Orgard of OSK Design talks about the future of ferry design and construction.

With next year's summit to be held in Greece we also hear the views of the CEO's of Patras and Kavala ports, Panagiotis Anastasopoulos and Dr Angelos Vlachos.

And how an interest in Irish Sea ferry operations led Gary Andrews to a career in shipping.

Our thanks to the organisers of the Ferry Shipping Summit for enabling us to attend.

We hope you enjoy the podcast and if you would like to hear more stories of ships and shipping and would be interested in sponsoring an episode or short series in 2026, get in touch.Show notes:

⁠2025 summit downloads⁠

⁠2026 Shipping Ferry Summit details⁠

Podcast contents:

1-4 minutes setting the scene

4-10 minutes Henriq Blomquist of Orbyt Global who specialise in maritime connectivity and navigation talks about developments aboard ships now and the future.

 10-15 minutes Canadian based Brock Consulting are already working in Europe as Maddy Bosch told us:

15-20 minutes In Tallin the port there has already adopted new ways of working as Kadri Haufe of Nortal explains.

 23 - 34 minutes ship designers like Anders Ogard of OSK Design are keeping a close eye on developments onshore to make sure the ferries of the future offer exactly what passengers and crew need.

34-43 minutes Gary Andrews of DFDS has been a lifelong ferry supporter. How does he view the future?

44-50 minutes the CEO's of Kavala and Patras ports Dr Angelos Vlachos and Panagiotis Anastasopoulos share their views on collaborations with ferry operators and hopes for the future.

This year’s Ferry Shipping Summit in Malmo brought together a diverse range of ferry and port operators from across Europe.

Eight executives responsible for some of the biggest ferry companies around gave their thoughts on the industry, its challenges and opportunities.

In episode 1 of this series we heard the view of the man in charge of Brittany Ferries in the English Channel market but in this podcast we’ll hear the views from northern and southern Europe.

Brian Thorsted of Fjord Lines in Norway and Juan Pablo Molina of Balearia offer their insight into two very different markets.

Brian tells us how he's confident for the coming years while Juan Pablo explains why Balearia's fleet is set to grow with three additional ships joining an existing fleet of 35.

And we hear how the Port of Kiel has undergone a transformation to make it among the most green in Europe.

We hope you enjoy the podcast and if you would like to hear more stories of ships and shipping and would be interested in sponsoring an episode or short series in 2026, get in touch.

Show notes:

⁠2025 summit downloads⁠

⁠2026 Shipping Ferry Summit details⁠

Podcast contents:

1-3 minutes setting the scene with Nigel and Alistair

3-9 minutes We meet Brian Thorsted CEO of ⁠Fjord Lines⁠10-16 minutes Hear from Juan Pablo Molina Technical Director for Balearia.

17-23 minutes The Port of Kiel received the summit's Port of the Year award. Lisa Serodnik Kiel’s environmental manager told us more about their transition to a port now able to offer electrical power to four ferries and three cruise ships at once.

Although the Ferry Shipping Summit took place in Malmo we were delighted to be able to see another Swedish port at work.

Ystad is the country's southernmost port with links to the Danish island of Bornholm and Świnoujście in Poland.

In this edition we hear from the man who is aiming to continue the development of this medium sized port by encouraging more freight and passenger traffic through it.

We also got an 'access all areas tour' of PolFerries latest Ro Pax vessel Varsovia, met the captain and company CEO as well as the designer who we learned was the same one behind Stena's new arrival on the Irish Sea.

And as we continue to shine a spotlight on the variety of jobs in the maritime world we learned what a ship broker does.

We hope you enjoy the podcast and if you would like to hear more stories of ships and shipping and would be interested in sponsoring an episode or short series in 2026, get in touch.Show notes:

2025 summit downloads

2026 Shipping Ferry Summit details

Podcast contents:

1-3 minutes setting the scene

3-7 minutes We meet Bjorn Bostrum port director at Ystad

8-15 minutes  Chief Executive of Polish Baltic Shipping Company Piotr Redmerski

16-21 minutes Roberto Prever from NAOS Ship and Boat Design on board the Varsovia, the ship he designed

21-25 minutes We tour the Varsovia.

26-30 minutes The life and times of a ship broker, Olof Berndtsson shares his story.

30-32 minutes Looking ahead to episode 4.

In the second of our series recorded in Sweden Alistair Eagles and Nigel Thompson look at an issue that affects the whole shipping industry - recruitment.

It’s still the case that the image of the industry remains ‘male, pale and stale.’ That’s what Alistair said during his speech at the Ferry Shipping Summit 2025 in Malmo and not only lived to tell the tale but there were more than just a few murmurs of agreement!

In this second episode recorded at the summit, we hear from some of those who are looking to make a career in the industry.

From students to graduate trainees, we met a number who are on the first rung and heard how they got there and what they hope to achieve in the future.

Produced by Nigel Thompson.

Show notes:

2025 summit downloads

Details of Ferry Shipping Summit 2026

Details of maritime careers in the UK

Podcast contents:

1-3 minutes setting the scene

3-7 minutes We meet Mohammad, a recent graduate from the World Maritime University in Malmo

9-15 minutes DFDS graduate trainees Pavlina and Andrea tell their stories.

16-18 minutes Ebba Martensson from IT company Surikat talks about her experience in industry so far.

Welcome to the first in a series of podcasts recorded at the Ferry Shipping Summit 2025 in Malmo, Sweden.

The event brought together several big hitters from the world of ships and shipping and your hosts Nigel Thompson and Alistair Eagles spoke to many.

Arguably few have as much experience as Peder Gellert. Until 2022 he was the executive vice president of DFDS shipping, a company he first joined in 1994.

Now a consultant and still very much involved in shipping, he presented a State of the Industry at the sold-out summit.

He showed how shipping is still facing a challenge when it comes to encouraging more to take traffic off the roads and how price and reliability is what drives people to choose ferries.

You can hear his thoughts in this episode.

One of those listening to Peder was the CEO of Brittany Ferries, Christophe Mathieu who told us about the  company’s fleet renewal programme, recovery from Covid and plans for the future.

And we spent time with Bo-Lennart Thorbjornsson, co-founded of the summit and team member Mike Louagie who edits the newsletter that accompanies the event.

Thanks to them for the invitation to attend and to you for downloading the first of five episodes we made during out time in Malmo.

Subscribe now to be sure of hearing the next one first!

We hope you enjoy the podcast and if you would like to hear more stories of ships and shipping and would be interested in sponsoring an episode or short series in 2026, get in touch.

Show notes:

2025 presentation download

Details of the Ferry Shipping Summit 2026

Podcast contents:

2-4' minutes Setting the scene in Sweden

4 minutes Meet Bo-Lennart Thorbjornsson, co-founder of the summit

8 minutes Mike Lougie is part of the team and the man whose editor of the newsletter that accompanies the event. A photographer, lecturer and journalist he tells us how they go about planning the summit.

10 minutes Peder Geller was until 2022 Executive Vice President of DFDS. He’s still very much involved in shipping as a consultant and has been part of the industry since the 1990s.12 minutes Why is the market static?

16 minutes When does he think the market for new ships will improve?

21 minutes We reflect on Peder's interview

24 minutes Among those no doubt listening intently to Peder's presentation was the Chief Executive of Brittany Ferries Christophe Mathieu. He told us about the effects the pandemic, Brexit and a host of other challenges has had on Brittany Ferries.

29 mins We reflect on Christophe's interview.

Why and how are ships arrested? Can you avoid legal issues by simply sailing away?

The Full Ahead podcast is shining a spotlight on all maritime matters, some of which you might be surprised to hear about, and this episode is no exception!

Alistair and Nigel have been in Liverpool this week where the Mersey Maritime team are gearing up for their annual awards event. It’s not just a celebration; it also brings together the many and varied people who make up the sector on Merseyside.

Mersey Maritime’s chief executive Ruth Wood met us ahead of the event to talk about why it matters, how Mersey Maritime is changing and also what drew her to the industry.

In this episode we also get an insight into the fascinating world of maritime law.

Colin Lavelle is a partner with Hill Dickinson in Liverpool and explains more about the legal issues linked to the industry and his route into it.

The firm are the sponsors of Everton’s new stadium but we hear how the company’s links to the maritime world extend back to the early days of  the transatlantic liners and how one founding lawyer had a lucky escape by turning down a trip on an ill-fated voyage.

And hear how Full Ahead is heading to Europe for our next episode.

  1 min Welcome to Liverpool

3 mon Meet Ruth Wood, CEO Mersey Maritime

8 min Get involved with Mersey Maritime

12 mins Meet Colin Lavelle of Hill Dickinson

14 min Connections to the White Star Line

16 mins How Colin became a marine legal specialist

17’40” What’s the appeal of this area of law

18’ Examples of the issues he deals with

21 mins A result!

22 mins ‘Thunderbirds’ the challenges of dealing with the variety of work

28 mins How do you become a maritime lawyer

29 mins Arresting multiple ships

30 mins How the Titanic continues to prompt work.

Our thanks to Ruth Wood and Colin Lavelle for taking part in the Full Ahead Podcast.

Today (Thurs 18th Sept) saw the arrival of the first of a new type of hybrid ferry in Heysham Port in Lancashire and we were there to witness it.

The 147-metre Stena Futura will operate 12 sailings per week providing additional freight capacity on the popular route between north west England and Belfast.

Once operational, Stena Futura and sister ship Stena Connecta, which is currently under construction and due to enter service on the Belfast-Heysham route in early 2026, will increase freight capacity by 40%.

Joining Alistair and Nigel on the blustery quayside at Heysham was author Matt Davies who was there to record the arrival and told us about his life-long interest in shipping.

From the brand new there's also a conversation with a captain who began his remarkable career at 13 and is still active half a century later.

Capt Dave McNamee has served all over the world and in a quirk of fate is now one of the volunteers aboard The Danny (as featured in episode 6), a ship he first saw as a school boy.

From the Pacific to the Irish Sea, hear some of his amazing stories and the kind of anecdotes he shared during his time at Fleetwood Nautical College.

And Daisy, the Full Ahead dog, makes a guest appearance!

It's a busy edition which we hope you enjoy!

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