A young Bermudian is embarking on a maritime career thanks in part to a friendship between Marine and Ports director Francis Richardson and Jens Alers of ship and crew management company Atlantic Marine Limited Partnership, which has offices in Hamilton.

And the story of Joseph Nicholas Maynard, 23, is an example of good corporate responsibility in Bermuda as well as what young single-minded, talented Bermudians can achieve if they apply themselves and seek out support.

Since leaving school he has spent much of his time learning seamanship either on tugs and container ships or through a highly-regarded course at Warsash Maritime Academy near Southampton, England.

Only in his early 20s, Mr. Maynard has already shown his ability as a crewman on container vessels, including Atlantic Marine's flagship Bernhard Schulte — six times the size of the Oleande> — when it was sailing in the Mediterranean.

As things stand Mr. Maynard is only a year or so away from completing his apprenticeship to qualify as a Marine and Ports Department pilot.

It all started in 1998 when he went to Marine and Ports at Dockyard as a summer student and worked on the tugboats.

"I loved that life and I saw the big ships coming in and I wanted to be on those ships," he said.

After finishing his studies at Bermuda College he sponsored himself through a nautical college in Nova Scotia for a year and then went back to Dockyard for another spell of summer work.

The teenager asked Mr. Richardson for advice on how he could progress to being a qualified seaman and was put in touch with Atlantic Marine. Mr. Richardson knew Mr. Alers personally having worked for the company previously for many years.

As a result the young Mr. Maynard was given a deck cadet position on the Bernhard SchultI>where he learned many aspects of basic seamanship and understudied officers. He sailed to ports in Israel, Italy and Greece and out to Spain, West Africa and Singapore.

"I did that for two-and-a-half months," he said. "I was getting more into the routine and became more useful as a crewman."

Before he left Bermuda Mr. Maynard had applied for an apprentice pilot programme at Marine and Ports, he subsequently heard he had been chosen and when he returned to Bermuda in November 2003 started the programme, which included a three-year stint at Warsash Academy in the UK, qualifying him to be an officer on watch position.

The link-up with Atlantic Marine again provided a boost as he was able to secure a position on its ship Sophie Schulto gain further crewman experience during his UK studies.

Now Mr. Maynard is back in Bermuda understudying local branch pilots, who take responsibility for bringing in container ships and the smaller cargo ships.

"I'm aiming to get my branch pilot licence and I want to use my officer-at-watch experience at sea," he said.

Marine and Ports' Mr . Richardson said Mr. Maynard had shown dedication and commitment to make him a worthy apprentice, as became even clearer when he came top of his class at Warsash Academy with 13 merits and distinctions out of his 17 passes.

Mr. Maynard and fellow apprentice Anthony Lightbourne are the first to be sent overseas to study by Marine and Ports.

Mr. Richardson said of Mr. Maynard: "He came to us as a summer student and his performance over the past few years has shown what can be achieved if someone is willing to commit and excel. We will continue to provide the opportunities for Bermudians within our department because we definitely need them."

For Atlantic Marine it was the friendship built up through Mr. Richardson's previous employment with the company, which has offices in Par-La-Ville Road, that opened the doors for Mr. Maynard to gain his seafaring experience on the company's ships.

Mr. Richardson called up his old boss Mr. Alers, who in turn was happy to assist with the apprenticeship scheme.

Mr. Alers said: "We started this structured programme where Marine and Ports have an apprentice at Warsash Academy and when they need to spend time at sea to gain practical experience they can go on our ships.

"We train 300 cadets on a world-wide basis of all nationalities. The benefit for us is that we train our own officers and if at some point they decide to go elsewhere, say to Marine and Ports, that's okay because it is not a one-way street and people who have been trained elsewhere sometimes come and work for us. Everyone recognises the value of training."