Witherby Publishing Group, formerly known as Witherby Seamanship, is a technical publisher of maritime, nautical and

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation ...

training, reference and regulatory materials. The company is the resulting merger of Witherby Books and Seamanship International in January 2008. Beginning with its origins in 1740 it lays claim to being the oldest independent publisher in the English-speaking world. Witherbys are the official electronic distributors for the International Maritime Organization and publish guidance titles with numerous shipping bodies and maritime NGOs. These include the International Chamber of Shipping, the UK Chamber of Shipping,

BIMCO BIMCO is one of the largest of the international shipping associations representing shipowners. BIMCO states that its membership represents approximately 60 percent of the world's merchant shipping tonnage and that it has members in more than 130 c ...

, OCIMF, SIGTTO, North P&I, the UK P&I Club, the International Association of Classification Societies, the Merchant Navy Training Board and the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST). Witherbys are an official distributor of INTERTANKO publications. The company holds working groups, which include specialist consultants from relevant sectors, as well as in-house technical advisors, authors and editors, to produce their publications.

History

The company's tradition of publishing and bookselling was initially started by the stationer Thomas Witherby at the company's founding in 1740 in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

. The early company developed as a copier and producer of legal documents, including articles of agreements, bonds and pro-forma contracts for marine insurance and carriage of goods by sea, operating in proximity to the maritime trade of the adjacent

Coffeehouses A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

. From 1749 until 1873, the company was located at Birchin Lane, adjacent to Lombard Street in London before later moving to several premises, including a building in Clerkenwell and later in Aylesbury Street, Islington. Throughout this period, the operating name of the changed from ''Witherby and Son'' to ''Witherby and Company'', including a subsidiary ''HF and G Witherby'' that specialised in ornithology books under the auspices of Harry Forbes Witherby, a descendant of Thomas Witherby. The collections of the early Witherby company are available at the London Metropolitan Archives. In 1998, the company Seamanship International was begun by Iain Macneil providing training materials for the maritime industry from Scotland and in 2008 the company bought out and merged with Witherbys, moving the business to Scotland (the physical printing arm of the company was sold off under the name WKG Print). Since relocating to Scotland, the company has expanded to become one of the largest maritime publishers in the world, publishing over 400 titles to over 110 countries in the world. It is estimated that there are more than a million Witherby ebooks in use on over 40,000 ships. In December 2020, David Balston, a former

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

Vanguard-class submarine The ''Vanguard'' class is a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) in service with the Royal Navy. The class was introduced in 1994 as part of the Trident nuclear programme, and comprises four vessels: , , and , built be ...

Commander, Prime Ministerial advisor and head of Policy at the UK Chamber of Shipping joined Witherbys as Deputy Chairman and non-executive director.

Location

The company has registered offices in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland, with the main offices and warehouse being located at Navigation House in

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American customs ...

, Scotland.

Products

Witherbys publishes on a range of maritime technical and operational subjects including

, Ballast Water Management,

ECDIS An Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) is a geographic information system used for nautical navigation that complies with International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations as an alternative to paper nautical charts. IMO r ...

Oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined ...

operations, LNG tanker operations,

seamanship Seamanship is the art, knowledge and competence of operating a ship, boat or other craft on water. The'' Oxford Dictionary'' states that seamanship is "The skill, techniques, or practice of handling a ship or boat at sea." It involves topics ...

, ship stability and

passage planning Passage planning or voyage planning is a procedure to develop a complete description of a vessel's voyage from start to finish. The plan includes leaving the dock and harbor area, the ''en route'' portion of a voyage, approaching the destination, a ...

. Together with the UK P&I Club, Witherbys publishes the marine reference book ''Carefully to Carry'', which contains guidance on the safe carriage, loading and storage of cargo on

cargo ships A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

. In September 2021, with the UK P&I Club and CAE, Witherby published a safety publication entitled ''Maritime Team Dynamics'', a safety book comparing aviation and maritime incidents. In February 2019, in conjunction with

and International Shipcare, Witherbys released the ''Ship Lay-up Guide''. In response to IMO efforts to require cyber security to be addressed under the

International Safety Management Code The International Safety Management (ISM) Code is the International Maritime Organization The International Maritime Organization (IMO, French: ''Organisation maritime internationale'') is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsi ...

, in November 2019, together with

and the International Chamber of Shipping Witherbys published the ''Cyber Security Workbook for Onboard Ship Use''. A second edition was published in October 2020. On behalf of OCIMF and the International Chamber of Shipping, the company publishes the ''International Safety Guide for Oil Tankers and Terminals (ISGOTT)'', which is used as a reference guide on most oil tankers and in most terminals. A sixth edition of ISGOTT was published in June 2020. With OCIMF, Witherbys also publish the ''Mooring Equipment Guidelines'', the 4th edition was published in 2018. In partnership with the International Chamber of Shipping, Witherbys publishes ''Drug Trafficking and Drug Abuse On Board Ship: Guidelines for Owners and Masters on Preparation, Prevention, Protection and Response''. In 2021, the sixth edition of the publication was released, offering guidance on how to protect the ship and crew via a range of security measures, while reducing the risk of drug trafficking occurring on board. Witherbys also publish the ICS guidance on Maritime security with a publication entitled ''Maritime Security - A comprehensive Guide for Shipowners, Seafarers and Administrations''. With Maritime Industry Australia, Witherbys publish a Passage Planning Guide for the

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, A ...

and Torres Strait. Together with BIMCO, the company publishes an annual guidance title on contractual risks entitled ''Check Before Fixing''. In 2021, the company issued ''Witherby Connect'', an eBook reader software for the marine industry. Also in 2021, the company launched an LNG carrier mooring tool called ''SHIPMOOR'' in partnership with the research company HR Wallingford. In June 2022, with BIMCO and the Danish Pilotage Organisation DanPilot, the company published a Passage Planning Guide on the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

covering the region from Skagen to Bornholm. In August 2022, in partnership with ICS and BIMCO, Witherbys published a guidance title for the shipping industry on

biofouling Biofouling or biological fouling is the accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae, or small animals where it is not wanted on surfaces such as ship and submarine hulls, devices such as water inlets, pipework, grates, ponds, and rivers tha ...

entitled ''Biofouling, Biosecurity and Hull Cleaning''.

Awards

Awards for the publisher have included the Queens Award for Enterprise, a Lloyds List Training Award and a Green Award. In March 2017, the company won the Sea Transport Award for 'best marine training material publishing company'.

Charitable Trust and Scholarships

In 2020, the company funded two publishing scholarships with

Edinburgh Napier University , mottoeng = Without knowledge, everything is in vain , established = 1992 – granted University status 1964 – Napier Technical College , type = Public , academic_staff = 802 , administrative_staff = 562 , chancellor = Will Whitehorn , ...

and the University of Stirling. In 2021, the company offered a scholarship for an MLitt in Publishing Studies at the Stirling University Centre for International Publishing and Communication. The company manages a charitable trust which provides funds for

sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

, arts and

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

in Scotland. In 2010, the trust paid for sports equipment for children in

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northe ...

. In 2019, the trust lead fundraising efforts to provide a gift of a new Steinway piano to St Mary's Music School in the West End of Edinburgh. For Christmas 2020, the trust funded the ''Witherby Arts Festival'' to support emerging musicians in Scotland. In June 2021, the trust supported the summer camp of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO). In September 2021, the trust donated £4,000 to the community Cairngorm Biathlon & Nordic Ski Club. In December 2021, the trust celebrated reaching £1,000,000 of charitable giving since 2011.

MV Astra

In 2020, Witherbys purchased '' MV Astra'', a 24 metre

Finnish-Swedish ice class Finnish-Swedish ice class is an ice class assigned to a vessel operating in first-year ice in the Baltic Sea and calling at Finnish or Swedish ports. Ships are divided into six ice classes based on requirements for hull structural design, engin ...

rescue ship (formerly operated as the lead vessel of the Swedish Sea Rescue Society). The ship undertook conversion work in 2021 and is provides research opportunities for Witherbys, including the undertaking of an expedition to complete a 22,000 nautical mile circumnavigation in 2021/2022 via the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn. The voyage began in December 2021 departing from Lanzarote. The ship then sailed to the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

via Cape Horn. By mid-February 2022, the ship had reached its halfway point of a 25,000 mile circumnavigation. On 16 May 2022, the ship completed its circumnavigation becoming the first sub-24m motor-powered vessel to circumnavigate the globe via the southern capes, setting a new world record for this class and voyage.

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

Witherby Publishing GroupWitherby Seamanship
Book publishing companies of Scotland Publishing companies of the United Kingdom Companies based in Edinburgh Companies British Merchant Navy