Branch spotlight: Cumbrian conversations

The RINA Cumbria Branch delivered a varied programme of talks and events in 2025 and into 2026, held mainly at Barrow Town Hall, Barrow-in-Furness, with one event at the Coniston Institute. Speakers covered a wide range of topics, from history to the future of decarbonisation, to the Titanic, to the engineering behind world speed records.

In September 2025, James Royston, head of projects at the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, gave a talk on the specification and acquisition of Manxman, its latest ferry serving the Heysham to Douglas route with some quite stringent infrastructure and environmental constraints and Return to Port requirements.

Martin Thody, a chartered ergonomics and human factors specialist, fellow and president of the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors, and senior engineering consultant for Human Systems Integration at BAE Systems Submarines, gave a talk on 1 October 2025 titled ‘The Evolution of Human Factors in the Maritime Industry: From the Age of Sail to the Modern Day’, exploring