Key Points
- City of Glasgow College welcomed HRH The Duke of Edinburgh to its Riverside Campus for a visit focused on Merchant Navy cadets and maritime training facilities.
- The Duke met the College’s Principal and Chief Executive, Dr Paul Little CBE DL, and the Lord Lieutenant of Glasgow, Dr Jacqueline McLaren.
- He also met senior members of the Honourable Company of Master Mariners, including Commodore Duncan Lamb, Captain Chris McDade, Captain Donald Lucas and Captain Millar.
- Cadets supported by Trinity House and the Honourable Company of Master Mariners spoke about their sea-time experiences in the Arctic, the North Sea and the Caribbean.
- The Duke toured the Shipping Simulator Hub and took the helm of a container ship entering port in Singapore using simulation technology.
- The College said its simulator suite includes 13 advanced maritime bridge simulators, Wärtsilä full mission bridge simulators, an integrated engine room simulator and immersive 360-degree visual technology.
- Dr Paul Little said the visit was the Duke’s second and linked it to a long royal association with maritime education in Glasgow.
- The College said more than 40% of the UK’s Merchant Navy cadets train there.
- Dr Little also said the College trains Merchant Navy, Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel from its Maritime Centre of Excellence on the River Clyde.
Edinburgh (Edinburgh Daily)- City of Glasgow College welcomes HRH The Duke of Edinburgh to its Riverside Campus for a visit focused on Merchant Navy cadets, advanced simulator training and maritime education. The visit highlighted the College’s role in training cadets for careers at sea and its long-standing links with royal support for maritime education in Glasgow.
What happened at Riverside Campus?
City of Glasgow College was honoured to welcome HRH The Duke of Edinburgh to its Riverside Campus yesterday for a visit focused on maritime education and training. The College said the purpose of the visit was to engage with Merchant Navy cadets, tour world-leading facilities and meet the Honourable Company of Master Mariners.
The Duke was welcomed by Dr Paul Little CBE DL, the College’s Principal and Chief Executive, alongside Dr Jacqueline McLaren, the Lord Lieutenant of Glasgow. He then met senior members of the Honourable Company of Master Mariners, including Commodore Duncan Lamb, Captain Chris McDade, Captain Donald Lucas and Captain Millar, Honorary Secretary of the Clyde Outport.
The College framed the visit as part of its wider work preparing cadets for careers at sea. It said the Royal visit gave the Duke an opportunity to hear directly from cadets about their training and the realities of life at sea.
What did the Duke see?
During the visit, His Royal Highness met Navigation and Engineering cadets supported by Trinity House and the Honourable Company of Master Mariners. The College said the cadets spoke about their sea-time adventures in the Arctic, the North Sea and the Caribbean.
A major part of the visit was a tour of the College’s state-of-the-art Shipping Simulator Hub. The Duke took the helm of a container ship entering port in Singapore, using simulation technology that the College says is helping to transform maritime education and training.
The College said the simulators provide a realistic learning environment for cadets and working maritime professionals. According to its statement, the facilities are designed to build competence in navigation, engineering and emergency response without placing trainees at sea during the learning phase.
How advanced are the facilities?
The College said its simulator suite contains 13 of the most advanced maritime bridge simulators of their kind anywhere. It added that the suite includes Wärtsilä full mission bridge simulators, an integrated engine room simulator and immersive 360-degree visual technology.
According to the College, these systems recreate highly realistic operating environments for training and assessment. That allows cadets and maritime workers to practise complex situations safely ashore before facing them in real-world shipping conditions.
The College also said the facilities support innovation across the wider maritime sector. Its statement presents the Maritime Centre of Excellence as a place where training and applied learning meet industry needs.
Why does this visit matter?
Dr Paul Little said the Duke’s visit marked a second visit and built on a royal association with maritime education in Glasgow stretching back more than half a century. He referred to the opening of the original College of Nautical Studies on the same site in 1969 by Admiral of the Fleet Lord Louis Mountbatten.
Dr Little also recalled that Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal returned to mark a 50-year milestone and visited again in 2023 to learn about the College’s work on UK Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce recommendations. His remarks placed the latest visit in a wider historical line of royal engagement with the institution.
He said the College is proud of its role in preparing the next generation of seafarers and maritime professionals using advanced training facilities in Europe. He also said the College trains well over 40% of the UK’s Merchant Navy cadets.
What did the College say about its role?
Dr Little said the College is pioneering cadet modernisation through a partnership approach with the global shipping industry. He said that approach equips future officers with navigation, marine engineering and electro-technical skills, along with the experience and confidence they need in a modern maritime sector.
He added that City of Glasgow College trains Merchant Navy, Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel from its Maritime Centre of Excellence on the banks of the River Clyde. That positions the College not only as a training provider but as part of a broader maritime skills ecosystem.
The College’s statement suggests the visit was intended to show both the scale and the purpose of its training model. It also emphasised how maritime education in Glasgow continues to connect heritage, technology and industry demand.
Background of the development
City of Glasgow College has a long association with maritime training on the River Clyde. The College said the original College of Nautical Studies on the same site was opened in 1969 by Admiral of the Fleet Lord Louis Mountbatten, creating a formal royal link that has continued through later visits.
The College also referred to royal engagement in 2023, when The Princess Royal visited to learn about its work supporting the UK Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce recommendations. That history shows a recurring interest in the College’s contribution to maritime skills and sector development.
The current visit by the Duke of Edinburgh therefore fits into a broader institutional story. It reflects how the College combines historical identity with modern simulation-based teaching to support British maritime training.
Prediction
For Merchant Navy cadets, this visit is likely to strengthen public attention on the scale and quality of training available at City of Glasgow College. It may also reinforce confidence among employers and maritime organisations in the College’s role as a key source of skilled officers.
For the wider maritime sector, the visit may draw more interest to simulator-based learning and industry partnership models. It could also help raise the profile of Glasgow as an important centre for maritime education, professional development and shipping-related training.
