Marine engineers design and build things which will operate in water – so that might mean at sea, in a river or reservoir, even in a swimming pool!

One of the oldest types of marine engineering is naval architecture. That’s designing watercraft.

Of course, there’s more to watercraft than boats! For starters, boats come in all shapes and sizes – from a small dingy…

There are cargo ships, then there are submarines… and exploration vessels which travel to the deepest depths of the sea…

Naval Architects will figure out the best way for these vessels to be propelled – which means thinking about power and engine design.

Watercraft need to be able to change direction and stop – so naval architects will design steering systems and understand how anchors work. They also need to make sure that the vessels are safe and comfortable places in which people can travel and work.

Things can behave very differently at sea so they need to have studied hard to learn the effect that water has on machinery and materials.

Then you’ve got Oceanic Engineers. Oceanography is the study of the oceans themselves – including things which live in them. Scientists in this field use lots of equipment to gather and analyse samples and take readings.

That equipment has to be able to cope with the demands of a watery workplace, and marine engineers are the experts.