History

Nautilus traces its roots back more than 150 years, when the Mercantile Marine Service Association was founded in 1857 in response to the harsh laws of the 1850 Merchant Shipping Act.

In 1936, the MMSA merged with the Imperial Merchant Service Guild and retained its name. Six years later, it became a member of the Officers’ Federation, which was established in 1928 in an attempt to foster cooperation between all the organisations representing British and Commonwealth officers.

Meanwhile, the Association of Wireless Telegraphists was established in 1912 in response to the growing use of telegraphy at sea. Mergers and name changes down the years culminated in the formation of the Radio & Electronic Officers' Union (REOU) in 1967.

Representation for ships' engineers began in the late 19th century, and two unions came together to form the Marine Engineers’ Association (MEA) in 1899.

The Navigating & Engineer Officers' Union (NEOU) was born in the mid-1930s and in 1956, following more than a decade of cooperation on issues of common concern, the MEA and the NEOU joined to form the Merchant Navy & Airline Officers' Association (MNAOA).

In 1985 the National Union of Marine, Aviation and Shipping Transport Officers (NUMAST) was established through a merger between the MMSA, REOU and MNAOA.

NUMAST then changed to Nautilus UK in 2006 to reflect the increasing globalisation of shipping in the new millennium. Long-standing cooperation with the Dutch maritime union resulted in the launch of the Nautilus Federation, through which Nautilus NL and Nautilus UK worked closely together on an industrial and political level.

In 2008, members of Nautilus UK and Nautilus NL voted overwhelmingly in favour of proposals to create a new single trans-boundary union for maritime professionals. Nautilus International was born on 15 May 2009.