Witherby Publishing Group, formerly known as Witherby Seamanship, is a technical publisher of maritime,

nautical Seamanship is the art, knowledge and competence of operating a ship, boat or other craft on water. The'' Oxford Dictionary'' states that seamanship is "The skill, techniques, or practice of handling a ship or boat at sea." It involves topics a ...

and

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

training, reference and regulatory materials. The company is the resulting merger of Witherby Books and Seamanship International in January 2008. Beginning with its origins in 1740 it lays claim to being the oldest independent publisher in the English-speaking world. Witherbys are the official electronic distributors for the

International Maritime Organization The International Maritime Organization (IMO, French: ''Organisation maritime internationale'') is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping. The IMO was established following agreement at a UN conference ...

and publish guidance titles with numerous shipping bodies and maritime NGOs. These include the

International Chamber of Shipping The International Chamber of Shipping is one of the world's principal shipping organisations, representing around 80% of the world's merchant tonnage through membership by national shipowners' associations. It is concerned with maritime regulatory, ...

, the

UK Chamber of Shipping The UK Chamber of Shipping is the trade association and voice of the UK shipping industry, representing around 200 member companies. They work with Government, parliament, international organisations and others to champion and protect the industry ...

, BIMCO, OCIMF,

SIGTTO SIGTTO is the Society of International Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators. It is a not-for-profit non-governmental organisation that represents owners of gas carriers and terminals, including LNG terminals. SIGTTO was formed as an international o ...

, North P&I, the

UK P&I Club The UK P&I Club is a marine mutual liability insurer in the United Kingdom providing P&I insurance for the global shipping industry. The UK P&I Club is one of the 13 members of the International Group of P&I Clubs. The club is one of the largest ...

, the

International Association of Classification Societies The International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) is a technically based non-governmental organization that currently consists of eleven member marine classification societies. More than 90% of the world's cargo-carrying ships’ to ...

, the

Merchant Navy Training Board The Merchant Navy Training Board (abbreviated to MNTB) is a voluntary body responsible for maritime training in the United Kingdom and for the training of the British Merchant Navy. The MNTB are based at the UK Chamber of Shipping office in Lo ...

and the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST). Witherbys are an official distributor of

INTERTANKO The International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (INTERTANKO) is a membership association for owners of independent tankers throughout the world. The Association was formed in its present guise in Oslo in 1970 to speak out for those indep ...

publications. The company holds working groups, which include specialist consultants from relevant sectors, as well as in-house technical advisors, authors and editors, to produce their publications.

History

The company's tradition of publishing and bookselling was initially started by the stationer

Thomas Witherby Thomas Witherby (1719 – 26 November 1797) was the founder of Witherby's, now known as the Witherby Publishing Group, one of the oldest publishing companies in the United Kingdom. In 1740, he opened a stationer's shop at 9 Birchin Lane, Lo ...

at the company's founding in 1740 in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

. The early company developed as a copier and producer of legal documents, including articles of agreements, bonds and pro-forma contracts for

marine insurance Marine insurance covers the physical loss or damage of ships, cargo, terminals, and any transport by which the property is transferred, acquired, or held between the points of origin and the final destination. Cargo insurance is the sub-branch o ...

and carriage of goods by sea, operating in proximity to the maritime trade of the adjacent

Coffeehouses A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

. From 1749 until 1873, the company was located at Birchin Lane, adjacent to Lombard Street in London before later moving to several premises, including a building in

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The well after which it was named was redisco ...

and later in Aylesbury Street,

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

. Throughout this period, the operating name of the changed from ''Witherby and Son'' to ''Witherby and Company'', including a subsidiary ''HF and G Witherby'' that specialised in

ornithology Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

books under the auspices of

Harry Forbes Witherby Harry Forbes Witherby, MBE, FZS, MBOU (7 October 1873 – 11 December 1943) was a noted British ornithologist, author, publisher and founding editor (in 1907) of the magazine ''British Birds''. Personal life Harry was the second surviving so ...

, a descendant of Thomas Witherby. The collections of the early Witherby company are available at the London Metropolitan Archives. In 1998, the company Seamanship International was begun by Iain Macneil providing training materials for the maritime industry from Scotland and in 2008 the company bought out and merged with Witherbys, moving the business to Scotland (the physical printing arm of the company was sold off under the name WKG Print). Since relocating to Scotland, the company has expanded to become one of the largest maritime publishers in the world, publishing over 400 titles to over 110 countries in the world. It is estimated that there are more than a million Witherby ebooks in use on over 40,000 ships. In December 2020, David Balston, a former

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

Vanguard-class submarine The ''Vanguard'' class is a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) in service with the Royal Navy. The class was introduced in 1994 as part of the Trident nuclear programme, and comprises four vessels: , , and , built ...

Commander, Prime Ministerial advisor and head of Policy at the UK Chamber of Shipping joined Witherbys as Deputy Chairman and non-executive director.

Location

The company has registered offices in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland, with the main offices and warehouse being located at Navigation House in

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...

, Scotland.

Products

Witherbys publishes on a range of maritime technical and operational subjects including

, Ballast Water Management, ECDIS,

Oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crud ...

operations,

LNG tanker An LNG carrier is a tank ship designed for transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG). History The first LNG carrier '' Methane Pioneer'' () carrying , classed by Bureau Veritas, left the Calcasieu River on the Louisiana Gulf coast on 25 January ...

operations,

seamanship Seamanship is the art, knowledge and competence of operating a ship, boat or other craft on water. The'' Oxford Dictionary'' states that seamanship is "The skill, techniques, or practice of handling a ship or boat at sea." It involves topics a ...

ship stability Ship stability is an area of naval architecture and ship design that deals with how a ship behaves at sea, both in still water and in waves, whether intact or damaged. Stability calculations focus on center of mass#center of gravity, centers of g ...

and

passage planning Passage planning or voyage planning is a procedure to develop a complete description of a vessel's voyage from start to finish. The plan includes leaving the dock and harbor area, the ''en route'' portion of a voyage, approaching the destination, a ...

. Together with the

, Witherbys publishes the marine reference book ''Carefully to Carry'', which contains guidance on the safe carriage, loading and storage of cargo on cargo ships. In September 2021, with the

and CAE, Witherby published a safety publication entitled ''Maritime Team Dynamics'', a safety book comparing aviation and maritime incidents. In February 2019, in conjunction with BIMCO and International Shipcare, Witherbys released the ''Ship Lay-up Guide''. In response to IMO efforts to require cyber security to be addressed under the

International Safety Management Code The International Safety Management (ISM) Code is the International Maritime Organization (IMO) standard for the safe management and operation of ships at sea. The purpose of the ISM Code * To ensure safety at sea and prevent damage to property, ...

, in November 2019, together with BIMCO and the

Witherbys published the ''Cyber Security Workbook for Onboard Ship Use''. A second edition was published in October 2020. On behalf of OCIMF and the International Chamber of Shipping, the company publishes the ''International Safety Guide for Oil Tankers and Terminals (ISGOTT)'', which is used as a reference guide on most oil tankers and in most terminals. A sixth edition of ISGOTT was published in June 2020. With OCIMF, Witherbys also publish the ''Mooring Equipment Guidelines'', the 4th edition was published in 2018. In partnership with the International Chamber of Shipping, Witherbys publishes ''Drug Trafficking and Drug Abuse On Board Ship: Guidelines for Owners and Masters on Preparation, Prevention, Protection and Response''. In 2021, the sixth edition of the publication was released, offering guidance on how to protect the ship and crew via a range of security measures, while reducing the risk of drug trafficking occurring on board. Witherbys also publish the ICS guidance on

Maritime security Maritime security is an umbrella term informed to classify issues in the Maritime transport, maritime domain that are often related to national security, marine environment, economic development, and human security. This includes the world's ocean ...

with a publication entitled ''Maritime Security - A comprehensive Guide for Shipowners, Seafarers and Administrations''. With Maritime Industry Australia, Witherbys publish a Passage Planning Guide for the

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

and

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian mai ...

. Together with BIMCO, the company publishes an annual guidance title on contractual risks entitled ''Check Before Fixing''. In 2021, the company issued ''Witherby Connect'', an eBook reader software for the marine industry. Also in 2021, the company launched an

LNG carrier An LNG carrier is a tank ship designed for transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG). History The first LNG carrier ''Methane Pioneer'' () carrying , classed by Bureau Veritas, left the Calcasieu River on the Louisiana Gulf coast on 25 January ...

mooring A mooring is any permanent structure to which a vessel may be secured. Examples include quays, wharfs, jetties, piers, anchor buoys, and mooring buoys. A ship is secured to a mooring to forestall free movement of the ship on the water. An ''an ...

tool called ''SHIPMOOR'' in partnership with the research company

HR Wallingford HR, Hr or hr may refer to: Arts and media Film and television * ''H.R. Pufnstuf'', a children's television series from 1969 * ''HR'', a 2013 television drama starring Alicia Silverstone * Person of Interest (TV series)#HR, HR, a criminal organisat ...

. In June 2022, with BIMCO and the Danish Pilotage Organisation DanPilot, the company published a Passage Planning Guide on the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

covering the region from

Skagen Skagen () is Denmark's northernmost town, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in Nordjylland, north of Frederikshavn and northeast of Aalborg. The Port of Skagen is ...

Bornholm Bornholm () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled by ...

. In August 2022, in partnership with ICS and BIMCO, Witherbys published a guidance title for the shipping industry on

biofouling Biofouling or biological fouling is the accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae, or small animals where it is not wanted on surfaces such as ship and submarine hulls, devices such as water inlets, pipework, grates, ponds, and rivers that ...

entitled ''Biofouling, Biosecurity and Hull Cleaning''.

Awards

Awards for the publisher have included the Queens Award for Enterprise, a

Lloyds List ''Lloyd's List'' is one of the world's oldest continuously running journals, having provided weekly shipping news in London as early as 1734. It was published daily until 2013 (when the final print issue, number 60,850, was published), and is ...

Training Award and a Green Award. In March 2017, the company won the Sea Transport Award for 'best marine training material publishing company'.

Charitable Trust and Scholarships

In 2020, the company funded two publishing scholarships with

Edinburgh Napier University , mottoeng = Without knowledge, everything is in vain , established = 1992 – granted University status 1964 – Napier Technical College , type = Public , academic_staff = 802 , administrative_staff = 562 , chancellor = Will Whitehorn , ...

and the

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (, gd, Oilthigh Shruighlea (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built w ...

. In 2021, the company offered a scholarship for an

MLitt The Master of Letters degree (MLitt or LittM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. Ireland Trinity College Dublin and Maynooth University offer MLitt degrees. Trinity has offered them the longest, owing largely to its tradition as Ireland ...

in Publishing Studies at the Stirling University Centre for International Publishing and Communication. The company manages a charitable trust which provides funds for

sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both hi ...

and

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

in Scotland. In 2010, the trust paid for sports equipment for children in

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

. In 2019, the trust lead fundraising efforts to provide a gift of a new

Steinway Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in Manhattan by German piano builder Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth led to the opening of a ...

piano to St Mary's Music School in the West End of Edinburgh. For Christmas 2020, the trust funded the ''Witherby Arts Festival'' to support emerging musicians in Scotland. In June 2021, the trust supported the summer camp of the

Royal Scottish National Orchestra The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) ( gd, Orcastra Nàiseanta Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a British orchestra, based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of the five National performing arts companies of Scotland, national performing arts compa ...

(RSNO). In September 2021, the trust donated £4,000 to the community Cairngorm Biathlon & Nordic Ski Club. In December 2021, the trust celebrated reaching £1,000,000 of charitable giving since 2011.

MV Astra

In 2020, Witherbys purchased '' MV Astra'', a 24 metre

Finnish-Swedish ice class Finnish-Swedish ice class is an ice class assigned to a vessel operating in first-year ice in the Baltic Sea and calling at Finnish or Swedish ports. Ships are divided into six ice classes based on requirements for hull structural design, engine ...

rescue ship (formerly operated as the lead vessel of the Swedish Sea Rescue Society). The ship undertook conversion work in 2021 and is provides research opportunities for Witherbys, including the undertaking of an expedition to complete a 22,000 nautical mile

circumnavigation Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical object, astronomical body (e.g. a planet or natural satellite, moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first recorded circ ...

in 2021/2022 via the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...

and

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...

. The voyage began in December 2021 departing from

Lanzarote Lanzarote (, , ) is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. It is located approximately off the north coast of Africa and from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering , Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the i ...

. The ship then sailed to the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

via

. By mid-February 2022, the ship had reached its halfway point of a 25,000 mile circumnavigation. On 16 May 2022, the ship completed its circumnavigation becoming the first sub-24m motor-powered vessel to circumnavigate the globe via the southern capes, setting a new world record for this class and voyage.

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

Witherby Publishing GroupWitherby Seamanship
Book publishing companies of Scotland Publishing companies of the United Kingdom Companies based in Edinburgh

Companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

British Merchant Navy