Nautilus International

Nautilus International is an international trades union and professional association representing seafarers and allied workers in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

The union's head office is in London; its General Secretary is Mark Dickinson. Nautilus International is affiliated to the International Transport Workers' Federation, International Federation of Shipmasters Associations, the UK Trades Union Congress and the Dutch Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging.

There are separate national components: Nautilus UK and Nautilus NL and Nautilus CH.

Some people are claimed as members, 15,500 including "ship masters (captains), ships officers, officer trainees (cadets) and shipping industry personnel, such as ship pilots, inland navigation workers, vessel traffic services operators (similar to air traffic control), harbourmasters, seafarers in the oil and gas industry, and shore-based staff"

Nautilus traces 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 & Electronic Officers' Union (REOU) in 1967.

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