Maritime Media Awards Nominations 2025

Over 90 entries were received in 2025 – Meet the nominees of the Maritime Media Awards

Nominees

The Maritime Media Awards recognises the UK’s best journalists, authors, filmmakers, digital creators and others whose work in the media has created a greater public understanding of maritime issues, and of the UK’s dependence upon the sea.

“The British economy is under pressure from all quarters, and it’s easy to disregard the role played by the maritime sector when media coverage focuses, understandably, on who shouts loudest. At such a challenging moment, the Maritime Foundation continues to highlight all those who bring their expertise, their energy and their enthusiasm to protecting the marine environment, and all those who make their living, and get their pleasure, from it.

For 30 years, the Foundation has championed the very best journalism, the most engaging films and documentaries, the most innovative digital coverage and the most captivating books. This year our judges have found it even more difficult than ever to select the best in each category, so join us at the Maritime Media Awards Ceremony to find out who has triumphed.”

Richard Clayton
Chair of the Maritime Foundation

The Desmond Wettern Award for Best Writer

The Award is made to the individual whose thinking or writing, in the opinion of the Awards Committee, has made the most decisive contribution in informing and influencing public awareness of future maritime issues during the qualifying period.

NOMINEES

The Maritime Foundation Award for Best Book

The Award is made to the author of the work of literature published in English during the qualifying period that, in the opinion of the Awards Committee, has contributed most significantly to public engagement with maritime issues.

NOMINEES

  • Michael Barritt
    Nelson’s Pathfinders: A Forgotten Story in the Triumph of British Sea Power
    Yale University Press
  • Lauren Benton
    They Called It Peace: Worlds of Imperial Violence
    Princeton University Press
  • Andrew Boyd
    Arms for Russia & The Naval War in the Arctic, 1941–1945
    Seaforth Publishing
  • Christian Bueger, Timothy Edmunds
    Understanding Maritime Security
    Oxford University Press
  • Nicholas Coghlan
    Under Wide and Starry Skies: 50 Sailing Destinations in Seas Less Travelled
    Adlard Coles
  • Dan Conley
    Down to the Sea in Submarines: A Cold War Odyssey
    Seaforth Publishing
  • Stefan Draminski
    The Destroyer USS Kidd: Anatomy of the Ship
    Osprey Publishing
  • Basil Germond
    Seapower in the Post-Modern World
    McGill-Queen’s University Press
  • John Goodlad
    Food from the Sea: The Future of Seafood
    Shetland Times Ltd
  • Edward Hampshire
    The Royal Navy in the Cold War Years, 1966–1990: Retreat and Revival
    Seaforth Publishing
  • Pip Hare
    In My Element: Life Lessons from the World’s Toughest Solo Ocean Race
    Adlard Coles
  • Nick Hewitt
    Normandy: The Sailors’ Story, A Naval History of D-Day and the Battle for France
    Yale University Press
  • David Hobbs
    Aircraft of the Royal Navy: Since 1908
    Seaforth Publishing
  • Nicholas Jellicoe
    Jellicoe’s War: The U-boat Threat in World War One and the Question of Convoy
    Seaforth Publishing
  • Ian Johnston
    Fairfield: A Shipyard Success Story, 1834–2024
    Seaforth Publishing
  • Angus Konstam
    The Pirate Menace: Uncovering the Golden Age of Piracy
    Osprey Publishing
  • Robin Laurance
    The Busy Narrow Sea: A Social History of the English Channel
    The History Press
  • J. Kent Layton, Tad Fitch, Michael Poirier, Thomas Lynskey, Levi Rourke
    Lusitania: An Illustrated Biography (Volume One), Life of a Greyhound
    The History Press
  • Damian Le Bas
    The Drowned Places: Diving in Search of Atlantis
    Chatto & Windus
  • David R. Leick
    USS Princeton: The Life and Loss of “Sweet P”
    Osprey Publishing
  • Evan Mawdsley
    Supremacy at Sea: Task Force 58 and the Central Pacific Victory
    Yale University Press
  • Simon Mills
    Inside the Britannic: Uncovering the Wreck of the Titanic’s Sister Ship
    Adlard Coles
  • Graeme J. Milne
    Making Men in the Age of Sail: Masculinity, Memoir, and the British Merchant Seafarer, 1860–1914
    McGill-Queen’s University Press
  • Michael Napier
    Over Cold War Seas: NATO and Soviet Naval Aviation, 1949–89
    Osprey Publishing
  • Mustafa Nejem
    The Green Wave: Embracing Renewable Energy in Maritime Shipping
    Self-Published
  • Matthew Neufeld
    Early Modern Naval Health Care in England, 1650–1750
    McGill-Queen’s University Press
  • Nicholas Nugent
    Spice Ports: Mapping the Origins of Global Sea Trade
    British Library Publishing
  • Jonathan Rayner
    Screening the Fleet: The Royal Navy on Television, 1973–2023
    White Rose University Press
  • Pia Rebelo
    Green Shipping Contracts: A Contract Governance Approach to Achieving Decarbonisation in the Shipping Sector
    Hart Publishing
  • N. A. M. Rodger
    The Price of Victory: A Naval History of Britain, 1815–1945
    Allen Lane
  • Helen Sampson
    Sea-Time: An Ethnographic Adventure
    Routledge
  • Helen Sampson, Nelson Turgo, Wendy Cadge, Sophie Gilliat-Ray
    Chaplaincy and Seafarers: Faith at Work
    Oxford University Press
  • Terry Stevens
    Bucked in the Yarn: The Unique Heritage of Coker Canvas
    Graffeg Books
  • Mark E. Stille
    Midway: The Pacific War’s Most Famous Battle
    Osprey Publishing
  • Stephen Taylor
    Predator of the Seas: A History of the Slaveship that Fought for Emancipation
    Yale University Press
  • Commodore Ronald W. Warwick OBE, David Humphreys
    The QE2 in the Falklands War: Troopship to the South Atlantic
    The History Press
  • Conrad Waters
    Seaforth World Naval Review: 2025
    Seaforth Publishing

The Donald Gosling Award for Best Audio-Visual Production

The Award is made to the director, producer, or other person responsible for making the film or television programme, released or broadcast in the United Kingdom during the qualifying period, that in the opinion of the Awards Committee has significantly influenced understanding of, or participation in, the maritime dimension.

NOMINEES

  • Max Barber
    Secrets of the Lost Liners
    Content Kings/Sky History
  • Chris Barham
    The Coastal Map of Britain
    October Films/5
  • Jack Bootle, Denise Mather
    Secrets of the Spy Whale
    Oxford Scientific Films/BBC Two
  • Charlie Bunce, Rob Carey, Camille Lewis, Paul Yuan
    Hot Yachts: Miami
    Curve Media/E4
  • Rosemary Cafferkey
    Why Bridges Collapse: The Baltimore Disaster
    Windfall Films/BBC One
  • Katie Carpenter, Mark Benjamin
    Fatal Watch: Dead Men Tell the Ocean’s Secrets
    Journeyman Pictures/General Release
  • Rachel Coburn
    Disclosure: Slavery at Sea
    BBC Scotland/BBC Two
  • Laura Craig
    Secrets of the World’s Most Expensive Cruise Ship
    ITN Productions/5
  • Henrik Dahlsbakken
    The Arctic Convoy
    Magnolia Pictures & Magnet Releasing/General Release
  • Orla Doherty, Roger Webb
    OceanXplorers
    BBC Studios Natural History Unit/National Geographic
  • Gareth Fielding
    Warship: Life in the Royal Navy
    True North Productions/5
  • Julia Foot
    Wynne & Joanna: All at Sea
    Barn Media/BBC One
  • Pamela Gordon
    Implosion: The Titanic Sub Disaster
    Renegade Stories/BBC Two
  • Chris Hackett
    Dover 24/7: Britain’s Busiest Port
    ITN Productions/Channel 4
  • Harriet Leaf
    Great Coastal Railway Journeys
    Naked West/BBC Two
  • Catrina Lear
    James May’s Great Explorers
    Plum Pictures/5
  • Fang Li
    The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru
    Laurel Films/General Release
  • David Mackay
    Saving Lives at Sea
    blast! By The Sea/BBC Two
  • Jenny Macleod
    Susan Calman’s Cruise of a Lifetime
    Daisybeck Studios/5
  • Jonathan Mayo
    Titanic in Colour
    Woodcut Media/Channel 4
  • Gerard McHugh
    The Cruise: Fun at Sea
    Title Role Productions/5
  • Christopher McMillan
    The Secret Lives of Lighthouse Keepers
    Tern TV/BBC One
  • Denis Minahan
    Nazis, U-boats and the Battle for the Atlantic
    360 Production/BBC One Northern Ireland
  • Mark Monroe
    Titan: The OceanGate Disaster
    Diamond Docs & Story Syndicate/Netflix
  • Charlotte Notteghem
    Vasa: The Ghost Ship
    FACTSTORY/BBC Four
  • Craig Piligian
    Lost U-Boats of WWII
    Pilgrim Media Group/Sky History
  • Emma Reed
    The Sinking of a Superyacht: How Safe Is Your Voyage?
    Emporium Productions/ITV1
  • James Ross
    Trainwreck: Poop Cruise
    Raw TV/Netflix
  • Daniel Smith
    The Titan Sub Disaster: Minute by Minute
    ITN Productions/5
  • Daniel Smith
    The Titan Sub Disaster: The New Evidence
    ITN Productions/5
  • Andy Smythe
    Coastguard: Search and Rescue SOS
    Middlechild Productions/5
  • Ben Steele
    Dead Calm: Killing in the Med?
    BBC Current Affairs/BBC Two
  • Karl Taylor
    The Hunt for Lady Olive and the German Submarine
    Karl Taylor Photography/BBC Four
  • Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Natalie Hewit
    Endurance
    National Geographic Documentary Films/Disney+
  • Nick Watts
    Titanic: Our Secret Histories
    Afro-Mic Productions/5

The Maritime Foundation Award for the Most Influential Use of Social and Immersive Media

The Award is made to the individual or institution that, in the opinion of the Awards Committee, has achieved through social media, video gaming or immersive media (Visual Reality and Mixed Reality) the most positive influence and stimulated the most change in the understanding or environment of any or all aspects of the maritime dimension.

NOMINEES