Meet the author
Gareth Bonner
Captain Gareth Bonner’s sea going career has seen him rise through the ranks, from Cadet to Master. Before embarking on a Cadetship with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in 2001 he completed a BSc (Hons) degree in Nautical Science at Liverpool John Moores University.
The training and wide variety of vessels within the Royal Fleet Auxiliary gave him an excellent grounding and a wide range of skills: from navigation to replenishment at sea; from loading and discharging of oil products to helicopter operations.
He later built upon this knowledge working with the British Antarctic Survey before entering the towage industry in 2009 with Klyne Tugs on the UK Emergency Towage Vessels.
Since gaining his Masters (Unlimited) Certificate of Competency in 2011 he has worked as Master on a variety of tugs in the towage sector.
He has been involved in ship assist and sea towage at various locations, including the UK, the Netherlands and Equatorial Guinea and built-up extensive experience with new-build tugs, delivery, offshore construction, and large offshore renewable projects.
During his time with SMS Towage Ltd he moved from Master to General Manager and contributed to the British Tugowners Association as Vice Chairman and member of the Executive Committee as well as the Workboat Association, sitting on the Committee, Chairing the Training work group, and becoming a Voluntary Towage Assessor. He also wrote ‘Tug Stability: A Basic Guide for Masters’ and contributed to ‘Use of Workboats for Towage: Good Practice Guide’, both produced by the Workboat Association.
After working for SMS Towage for several years Gareth decided to go back to doing what he loves most, driving tugs and he is now Captain of the Svitzer Castle at Immingham on the River Humber.
Gareth is founder of ALERT MARINE, a Ship Assist Towage Consultancy, and Workboat Support Officer for the Workboat Association helping run the various workgroups.
Gareth is an Associate Fellow Member of the Nautical Institute and member of Nautilus UK.
