Captain Roy Henry Stanbrook (born 1957) was

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

of the

Gibraltar Port Authority The Gibraltar Port Authority develops and manages the Port of Gibraltar. History On 19 February 1706, Anne, Queen of Great Britain granted Free Port status to Gibraltar. In the early 18th century, Gibraltar was principally a garrison where ...

and Captain of the Port in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar before becoming the Harbour Master of the Port of Melbourne, Victoria in April 2014. His position prior to the 2012 appointment was that of

Harbour Master A harbourmaster (or harbormaster, see spelling differences) is an official responsible for enforcing the regulations of a particular harbour or port, in order to ensure the safety of navigation, the security of the harbour and the correct operat ...

for the Lower District of the

Port of London Authority The Port of London Authority (PLA) is a self-funding public trust established on 31 March 1909 in accordance with the Port of London Act 1908 to govern the Port of London. Its responsibility extends over the Tideway of the River Thames and it ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He was succeeded by

Gibraltarian The Gibraltarians ( Spanish: ''gibraltareños'', colloquially: '' llanitos'') are an ethnic group native to Gibraltar, a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance to the Mediterra ...

Captain Bob Sanguinetti.

Biography

Roy Henry Stanbrook, a native of Surrey, England, was born in 1957. The mariner indicates that he "ran away to sea as a boy." His education included the

Greenwich Royal Naval College The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equiv ...

and the Warsash School of Navigation (1975-1979). His early career included service in the

Royal Fleet Auxiliary The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RFA ensures the Royal Navy is supplied and supported b ...

(RFA) aboard the RFA ''Sir Galahad'' (1966) during the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territori ...

(1982) and other conflict areas, during which he qualified as a

Master Mariner A master mariner is a licensed mariner who holds the highest grade of seafarer qualification; namely, an unlimited master's license. Such a license is labelled ''unlimited'' because it has no limits on the tonnage, power, or geographic location o ...

. Stanbrook also served in the

first Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

. He gained additional maritime experience in the fields of underwater engineering, education,

marine insurance Marine insurance covers the physical loss or damage of ships, cargo, terminals, and any transport by which the property is transferred, acquired, or held between the points of origin and the final destination. Cargo insurance is the sub-branch o ...

, and vessel management. He was employed by BT Marine, working on cable ships. At

Warsash Maritime Academy Warsash Maritime School, formerly Warsash Maritime Centre and Warsash Maritime Academy, is a maritime training college that is part of Solent University. The college provides education, training, consultancy and research to the international sh ...

, part of

Southampton Solent University Solent University (formerly Southampton Solent University) is a public university based in Southampton, United Kingdom. It has approximately 10,500 students (2019/20). Its main campus is located on East Park Terrace near the city centre and th ...

, Stanbrook taught radar, vessel handling, and bridge team management, and became a

Senior Lecturer Senior lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, and Israel senior lecturer is a faculty position at a university or similar institution. The position is tenured (in systems with this con ...

. He was a surveyor for the

protection and indemnity insurance Protection and indemnity insurance, more commonly known as P&I insurance, is a form of mutual maritime insurance provided by a P&I club. Whereas a marine insurance company provides "hull and machinery" cover for shipowners, and cargo cover for cargo ...

(P&I) club, British Marine Mutual. In addition, he was Operations Director for the Rochester-based shipping company, R Lapthorn and Company Ltd, his last position before joining the Port of London Authority (PLA). In 2001, Stanbrook was appointed as the Deputy Harbour Master on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the ...

for the Lower District of the Port of London Authority. In 2007, he was selected as Harbour Master for the Lower District of the Port of London Authority, the area of his responsibility the lower tidal Thames. He succeeded Gordon Dickins, who retired from the Port of London Authority after having served in a number of senior positions over a period of 32 years. Stanbrook was in an advanced development programme at the

Cranfield School of Management Cranfield School of Management, established in 1967, is a business school that is part of Cranfield University in Bedfordshire, United Kingdom. It was ranked Top 10 in the UK and 34th in Europe in the Financial Times European Business Schools ...

Cranfield University Cranfield University is a British postgraduate public university, public research university specialising in science, engineering, design, technology and management. Cranfield was founded as the College of Aeronautics (CoA) in 1946. Through the 19 ...

in 2007–2008. On 27 February 2012, the 54-year-old assumed his most recent position, that of Chief Executive of the Gibraltar Port Authority and Captain of the Port. The selection process was completed in November of the previous year. His predecessor in Gibraltar was Captain Peter W. Hall, who served in that position from August 2008 to October 2011, after having unexpectedly resigned in September 2011. Gibraltar Bay 02

Captain Stanbrook, a married father of two, is a Fellow of the Nautical Institute (FNI), an international organization for maritime professionals. He is a Younger Brother of Trinity House, the

general lighthouse authority A general lighthouse authority (GLA) is one of three agencies primarily responsible for aids to navigation in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. They are divided into regions as follows: * Trinity House: England & Wales, Channel Isl ...

for England, Wales, the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey ...

, and Gibraltar. He has an

STCW International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) sets minimum qualification standards for masters, officers and watch personnel on seagoing merchant ships and large yachts. STCW was adopt ...

(Standards of Training, Certification & Watchkeeping) Master Unlimited Certificate of Competency. On 19 March 2010, Stanbrook was appointed as a director of the Cambria Trust, the charity that owns the

Thames sailing barge A Thames sailing barge is a type of commercial sailing boat once common on the River Thames in London. The flat-bottomed barges with a shallow draught and leeboards, were perfectly adapted to the Thames Estuary, with its shallow waters and na ...

Cambria Cambria is a name for Wales, being the Latinised form of the Welsh name for the country, . The term was not in use during the Roman period (when Wales had not come into existence as a distinct entity). It emerged later, in the medieval period, ...

''. He has resided in

Rochester, Kent Rochester ( ) is a town in the unitary authority of Medway, in Kent, England. It is at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway, about from London. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rainham, Strood and Gil ...

, England.

Neil Costa Neil Francis Costa is a Gibraltarian barrister and politician affiliated to the Liberal Party of Gibraltar (LPG). In December 2011 he was elected an MP to the Gibraltar Parliament and was elected Minister for Tourism, Public Transport, Commerc ...

, Minister for Tourism, Public Transport and the Port, and chairman of the board of directors of the Gibraltar Port Authority, commented on his selection of Stanbrook to lead the Gibraltar Port Authority. "The Government is determined to see growth and development in the various sectors of port operations and will be looking to the Captain to provide the necessary leadership to achieve this." In Gibraltar, the commercial port's primary activity is

bunkering Bunkering is the supplying of fuel for use by ships (such fuel is referred to as bunker), including the logistics of loading and distributing the fuel among available shipboard tanks. A person dealing in trade of bunker (fuel) is called a bunk ...

; Alan Cubbin of the Gibraltar Maritime Administration has noted improvement to the process of booking bunkering slots at Gibraltar in 2012. "A year ago, it wasn’t unusual for ships to sit out for 24 hours whereas now, they’re booking three days ahead and it’s very efficient." In April 2014, Captain Sanbrook was appointed Harbour Master for the Port of Melbourne, a position he remained in until his retirement in January 2020. Captain Roy Stanbrook passed away on 14 July 2022, following a suspected heart attack.

References

External links

Photograph of Roy Stanbrook

Photographs of Roy Stanbrook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanbrook, Roy 1957 births Living people People from Surrey Navigation Port of London Gibraltarians Members of Trinity House