Who's Navigating? STEER-ing the ship, charting the course

Ann Pletschke discusses her sea-based career and work ashore, researching the impact of technology on seafarers

Q: Why did you decide to pursue a career at sea?

I had my heart set on being a future Master from the age of four, due to a well-established family history of previous generations having spent long careers at sea. This desire never wavered, and at 16 years old I started my own seagoing career as a deck cadet on deep-sea reefer vessels and obtaining my Master’s licence at the age of 27.

Q: Tell us about the STEER Project and your involvement in it.

I’m Project Manager for The Nautical Institute’s STEER project, which is a two-and-a-half-year global research project into the impact of technology on seafarers, both positive and negative. The project will result in practical tools that will improve the impact of technology on seafarers, including increasing internet connectivity for personal technologies, such as apps on phones, improving operational technologies like the Bridge Navigation Watch Alarm System and looking more deeply into emerging future technologies.

I started in the role in January 2026 after disembarking my last vessel in November 2025. I had studied some aspects of technology impact as part of my MEng a few years ago and previously worked for a company that introduced remote technologies into bridge watchkeeping and overall vessel operation. So, it was a role that appealed to me.

It’s really important to me that we represent all seafarers, of all ranks and on all types of ships around the world, including those that work on high-tech ships and those that do not. Technologies can have such a big effect on safety and crew wellbeing and, as a seafarer myself, I want to find and address the impacts that have the most effect, or are the easiest to improve.

Q: What have been some of the most rewarding and most challenging moments of your career?

There have been so many! Signing the Official Logbook as the vessel’s first ever Master and then taking it out of the shipyard for the maiden voyage was one of my most rewarding moments and one that make me think, “pinch me!” – it was really happening! Otherwise, successfully completing tricky ship handling without a scratch never fails to be rewarding, once the adrenaline has worn off!

In terms of challenging moments, one testing aspect or working at sea is the difficulty to change between ship types. I’d always fancied working on a tanker but because I had no tanker experience, I could never transfer.

My biggest challenges have unfortunately come from other crew members, which I think is common for many seafarers. We can sail with some wonderful shipmates, but sadly harassment, abuse and bullying are all too common at times, and can make good ships with good voyage schedules incredibly challenging.

Finally, it’s not always about your own journey, seeing one of my mentees get her EOOW Certificate of Competency after a long road coming from a country with no maritime academy or training programme was also just as rewarding as any of my own successes.