Hemel Hempstead man awarded a Merchant Navy Medal

A man from Hemel Hempstead has been awarded Britain's highest award for shipping, the Merchant Navy Medal.

Adrian McCourt, 63, of Old Town, was awarded the medal for his services to maritime safety by HRH The Princess Royal at Trinity House.

He left school in 1974 and served on oil and gas tankers, mainly in the Baltic in all ranks up to Captain, before coming ashore as Port Captain in the ports of Purfleet, Hull and Felixstowe.

Several years in fleet management with P&O preceded a period as a maritime consultant, including running training courses at the Dalian Maritime University and passenger ship crew training in Haikou City, both in China.

In addition, he was engaged in work in the offshore oil sector in Brazil, Myanmar and Vietnam. Captain McCourt joined the Munich Re Syndicate at Lloyd’s as Chief Risk Engineer in 2003, as technical advisor to underwriters.

In his role he has carried out a wide range of marine insurance related tasks from risk management surveys ashore and offshore from Australia to the Arctic, to post-hijack response operations.

Adrian said: "It was a privilege to receive the award, it was presented by HRH The Princess Royal.

"I have many memories of the sea. My youngest daughter spent her first Christmas at sea in thick ice in the Baltic. She was not a great sleeper but when we put her cot on the bridge, the rolling motion sent her off into a deep sleep.

"My wife Terry also joined me soon after we were married. Most girls would be delighted to have a six month honeymoon. The fact it was on board a gas tanker is a minor detail."

Adrian is a qualified oil well control supervisor, member of the Informal Tanker Owner’s Safety Forum (for over 28 years), Vice Chairman of The Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society and an Ambassador of Trinity House.

He is an Associate Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation and Member of the Nautical Institute, and he was a governor of Broadfield School, in Hemel Hempstead, for sixteen years.