Shortlist revealed for Maritime Media Awards 2018

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Julian Parker OBE announcing the Maritime Media Awards 2017

The shortlist for the prestigious Maritime Media Awards has been released ahead of this year’s awards ceremony which takes place at the end of this month.  The awards celebrate all the journalists, writers and filmmakers who help promote Britain’s interests across the maritime sector. Established by the Maritime Foundation, the awards highlight and provide an understanding of Britain’s dependence on the sea.  Now into its twenty-third year, the Awards thank all the terrific story-tellers who are tirelessly helping raise awareness and the importance of this sector.

With a huge surge in media interest in the sea this year, the theme of the event is “How do we value the Ocean”.  The chosen shortlist demonstrates an extraordinary range of talent with major works covering this topic as well as historical and contemporary themes.

Julian Parker OBE, Chairman of the Judging Committee, comments, “Two major documentaries in 2018 have strongly influenced public opinion about the vulnerability of the oceans. The BBC Blue Planet II series demonstrated the fragility of marine ecosystems and the continuing Sky News campaign Ocean Rescue alerted us all to the scale and effects of plastic pollution.  Such programmes are produced by dedicated individuals presenting in the media but there are also many others whose contributions feed into the intricate and complex relationships between mankind and the sea.

The Maritime Foundation would like to congratulate all those setting such a high standard in each category this year. The increase in nominations reflects the growing interest in maritime affairs, and the Judging Committee was presented with the most challenging task in selecting the winners”.

The shortlist for four of the six Awards is listed below, and the winners will be announced after the dinner at the annual Maritime Media Awards on Wednesday 31st October at Drapers’ Hall, London. Two additional awards to be handed out are the Desmond Wettern Fleet Award and the Maritime Fellowship Award.

The 2018 Maritime Media Awards Shortlist

The Desmond Wettern Award for Best Journalism:

The Mountbatten Award for Best Book:

  • Naomi Austin – The Call of the Sea: A Visual Timeline of Sunderland’s Shipbuilding History Through to the Tall Ships Race of 2018 (Consilience Media)
  • Iain Ballantyne – The Deadly Trade: The Complete History of Submarine Warfare From Archimedes to the Present (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
  • Mike Bender – A New History of Yachting (Boydell Press)
  • Kaci Cronkhite – Finding Pax: One Woman’s Journey for the Love of her Wooden Boat (Adlard Coles)
  • J David Davies – Kings of the Sea: Charles II, James II and the Royal Navy (Seaforth Publishing)
  • Barry Gough – Churchill and Fisher: Titans at the Admiralty (Seaforth Publishing)
  • Gillian Hutchinson – Sir John Franklin’s Erebus and Terror Expedition: Lost and Found (Adlard Coles)
  • David Mearns – The Shipwreck Hunter: A Lifetime of Extraordinary Deep-Sea Discoveries (Allen & Unwin)
  • Robert C Stern – The Battleship Holiday: The Naval Treaties and Capital Ship Design (Seaforth Publishing)
  • Eric Thompson – On Her Majesty’s Nuclear Service (Casemate Publishers).

The Donald Gosling Award for Best Television or Film Production:

  • Rachael Barnes
    Saving Lives at Sea – Blast! Films (BBC Two)
  • Baltasar Kormakur
    Adrift – STX Entertainment (Box office, Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD)
  • Ben Laidlow
    Dispatches: Secrets of Your Cruise – ITN Productions (Channel 4)
  • Stephanie DeGroote
    Sky Ocean Rescue: Dirty Business – Sky News (Sky Atlantic)
  • Nick Maddocks and Andy Attenburrow
    Hull’s Headscarf Heroes – Testimony Films (BBC Four)
  • Giles Martin-Raget
    Les Voiles de St Tropez – GMR+G1 (France)
  • Andy Richards
    Britain Afloat – BBC English Regions (BBC One)
  • Rebecca Ricks
    Fish Wars – Forces TV (Forces TV)
  • Will Rowson
    The Channel: The World’s Busiest Waterway – Blast! Films (Channel 4)
  • Crispin Sadler
    Drain the Sunken Pirate City – Mallinson Sadler Productions (National Geographic)
  • Chris Terrill
    Britain’s Biggest Warship – Uppercut Films / STV Productions (BBC Two).

The First Sea Lord’s Award for Best Use of Digital Media:

Last year the Maritime Foundation launched the first issue of Maritime, a journal aimed to expand the horizons of maritime awareness. The second issue Maritime 2018 will be published to mark this year’s dinner and contains articles from a wide cross-section of contributors which raise some interesting questions and thoughts.

Julian Parker added, “With this year’s Awards and the second issue of Maritime, our aim is to raise the level of awareness across public and parliamentary perceptions that, as an island nation, the sea is not just a troublesome barrier but a key resource in any strategy concerning Britain’s future prosperity.”

Notes to editors

  • The Maritime Media Awards Dinner will be held at Drapers’ Hall, London, EC2N 2AN. Reservations can be made online at www.maritimefoundation.uk/awards/dinner/. The inclusive cost of the reception and dinner including wines is £110. Payment can be made either by card, cheque or bank transfer.
  • The Maritime Foundation’s purpose is to promote Britain’s interests across the entire maritime sector and to inform and raise public and parliamentary awareness of the importance of Britain’s maritime industries, commerce and defence through education, training and research, as well as through the Foundation’s annual Maritime Media Awards.
  • The Maritime Media Awards were established in 1993, in memory of Desmond Wettern, former naval correspondent of the Daily Telegraph.
  • Details of past winners can be found at www.maritimefoundation.uk/awards/winners/

For further information about the Maritime Foundation please visit www.maritimefoundation.uk

For any press enquiries please contact Chloe Bailey chloe.bailey@maritimefoundation.uk / 07970 649008