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Who we are

Nautilus International is a trade union and professional organisation serving, supporting and protecting the interests of more than 20,000 maritime professionals in the UK, Netherlands and Switzerland.

Secretariat

The Nautilus secretariat is the collective name for the Union's paid employees, who are led by an elected general secretary. The secretariat implements Union policy and carries out administration. It is divided into several departments, each focused on a particular area of the Union's work.

Council members

The membership of the Nautilus International Council is designed to reflect the Nautilus membership base, with representatives drawn from the different member nations and from different employment backgrounds within the maritime and inland navigation sectors.

Trustee directors

In law, the assets of a trade union must be held by a trustee, and in the case of Nautilus International, this trustee is a corporate body: Nautilus Trustee Ltd.

Meet members

Nautilus International represents 20,000 maritime professionals including ship masters, officers, cadets and industry personnel, such as ship pilots, inland navigation workers, vessel traffic services operators, harbourmasters, seafarers in the oil and gas industry, and shore-based staff.

Strategic plan

This is the Nautilus International strategic plan for 2023-2027.

About Nautilus

Nautilus members work at sea and ashore, and the Union has members in all the waterborne transport sectors. Sometimes we are referred to as the ‘Merchant Navy union’, but this doesn’t tell the whole story.

The history of Nautilus International

Nautilus International traces its history back more than 160 years to 1857, when the Mercantile Marine Service Association was founded in the UK in response to the provisions of the 1850 Merchant Shipping Act.

Partners

Nautilus International works with numerous other bodies, in a variety of ways. The main organisations we have partnerships with are listed on this page.

Policies

Nautilus International strives to be a transparent and well governed organisation, with policies and regulations readily available to members, and to provide a high quality service to our members.

Rules

The Nautilus International Rules are the legal framework by which the Union is governed.

Regulations

The Nautilus International Regulations offer further explanation and guidance on the Union's Rules of governance.

Become a Nautilus member today