Lessons from a life in shipping: Mark Cameron, former COO at Ardmore Shipping

How and why did you enter the shipping industry?
The shipping industry was always my passion. My father was a chief engineer with Blue Funnel way back in the 1950s. I am colour blind, so a navigation career was not an option for me, so I chose engineering — which, in hindsight, was a good option for my career. At 17, I left school and went straight to sea on my first vessel as a cadet. From there my career began and I never looked back. Never a day wasted, never an opportunity lost.

What was your best moment in shipping?
Starting Ardmore Shipping with Tony (Anthony Gurnee). The opportunity to start something from scratch and put your stamp on the operating ethos and company philosophy was very special, and it was something I was incredibly proud of.

What was your worst moment in shipping?
Accidents — and there were a few. Machinery and steel we can repair; when people get hurt, it really hits you hard personally. In 1999, one of my chief engineers fell in a ballast tank and severed his spinal cord. I stayed in touch with him and his family all these years; he passed away in 2025. I think, as a leader, you have to own every accident and do your best to never let it happen again.

What was your funniest moment in shipping?
Oh, there were many over the years. Shipping has changed a lot and we used to operate in a very different environment than we do today. A lot of the stuff we used to do we simply could not do today, either from a risk perspective or due to (positive) social change. Most of the good times were with either ship staff or management teams around the world.

Who did you learn the most from?
Graham Westgarth, my former boss at Teekay, as well as Mike Johnson and Smersh Rabie during my Safmarine time. I have to add Bjorn Hojgaard at Anglo Eastern, given my 25-year association with him. Recently, I wrote the foreword for his book Balance: Beyond Binary, which I think is an excellent read and gives a lot of personal insight into leadership in the maritime industry.

What is your guilty pleasure?
A glass of wine in the sun after a good day in the garden, or fishing on my boat. I also love having the top down in my Aston Martin DB12 with the wind in my hair (I still have hair, albeit grey).

What is your favourite meal?
I love a good steak on the barbecue and a glass of Rioja.

Where is your favourite location?
I recently moved to Barcelona, Spain, but Cork in Ireland and Cape Town are very special places to me.

What would be your advice to a young person starting in shipping?
Get stuck in. Never turn down an opportunity. Be brave and stick at it. Shipping is not for the faint-hearted. Make friends, not just colleagues, and look after people.

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