The National Union of Marine, Aviation and Shipping Transport Officers (NUMAST) was a United Kingdom

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

representing

seafarers A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

and allied workers that existed between 1985 and 2006. It then changed its name to Nautilus UK and, in 2008, it merged with the Dutch trade union Nautilus NL to form

Nautilus International Nautilus International is an international trade union and professional association representing seafarers and allied workers, which is based in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Organisation The union's head office is in Londo ...

Origins

NUMAST traced its roots back more than 150 years, when the Mercantile Marine Service Association was founded in 1857 in response to the harsh laws of the 1850 Merchant Shipping Act. In 1936, the MMSA merged with the Imperial Merchant Service Guild and retained its name. Six years later, it became a member of the Officers’ Federation, which was established in 1928 in an attempt to foster cooperation between all the organisations representing British and Commonwealth officers. Meanwhile, the Association of Wireless Telegraphists was established in 1912 in response to the growing use of telegraphy at sea. Mergers and name changes down the years culminated in the formation of the Radio and Electronic Officers' Union (REOU) in 1967. Representation for ships' engineers began in the late 19th century, and two unions came together to form the Marine Engineers’ Association (MEA) in 1899. The Navigating & Engineer Officers' Union (NEOU) was born in the mid-1930s and in 1956, following more than a decade of cooperation on issues of common concern, the MEA and the NEOU joined to form the Merchant Navy & Airline Officers' Association (MNAOA).

History

The union was established in 1985, when the Merchant Navy and Airline Officers' Association merged with the Radio and Electronic Officers' Union and the Mercantile Marine Service Association. The union originally included aviation personnel, such as flight navigators and flight engineers, however these members were transferred to

BALPA The British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) is the professional association and registered trade union for UK pilots. BALPA represents the views and interests of pilots, campaigning on contractual, legal and health issues affecting its ...

, the airline pilots' union by 1990. On 2 October 2006, the union formed the Nautilus Federation with the Dutch

Federation of Maritime Workers The Federation of Maritime Workers (, FWZ) was a trade union representing sailors in the Netherlands. The union was founded in 1967, when the recently founded General Association of Seafarers merged with the Central Organisation of Sailors and Fis ...

(FWZ), and changed its name to Nautilus UK. FWZ became Nautilus NL at the same time.

Nautilus International

In 2008, members of Nautilus UK and Nautilus NL voted overwhelmingly in favour of proposals to create a new single trans-boundary union for maritime professionals, the two merging into Nautilus International on 15 May 2009.

General Secretaries

:1985: Eric Nevin :1988: John Newman :1993:

Brian Orrell Brian David Orrell OBE (born September 1948) is a former British trade union leader. Born in Barrow-in-Furness, Orrell went to sea in 1965, training as an engineer with the Blue Funnel Line. He joined the Merchant Navy and Airline Officers Associa ...

References

{{Authority control Maritime officers' trade unions International Transport Workers' Federation Transport trade unions in the United Kingdom Trade unions in the United Kingdom Trade unions established in 1985 Trade unions disestablished in 2009 Trade unions based in London Trade unions affiliated with the Trades Union Congress Trade unions affiliated with the Scottish Trades Union Congress