Naval Architect Mark Thomas and Engineer Oliver Millar presented Beckett Rankine’s latest paper today at the UK Maritime Heritage Forum, hosted in the National Maritime Museum Cornwall, Falmouth. 

Sponsored by Beckett Rankine, the event brought together maritime heritage professionals and volunteers from museums, archives, and historic or working ships. 

The paper, titled ‘The evolution of conservation’, covers the financial, structural, and emotional complexities of maintaining these valued assets for future generations.  

This includes a recognition of the increasing difficulty in obtaining funding, the impact of modern regulations, and the loss of traditional shipbuilding skills on conservation efforts. Furthermore, the paper explores the role of modern technology and techniques in enabling safer, more sustainable and cost-efficient conservation practices.  

Beckett Rankine’s expertise in assessing, conserving and presenting historic vessels underpins the paper. With a growing portfolio of maritime heritage assets, our engineers and naval architects are pivotal in managing iconic vessels such as RRS Discovery, HMS Belfast, and initiatives such as Hull: Yorkshire’s Maritime City. 

Principal Naval Architect and co-author of the paper, John Monasta said, “It’s no surprise to those in the industry that conserving historic ships has undertaken quite a journey to reach where we are today. With this paper, we feel the importance of reflecting and appreciating how far we’ve come, to inform new and emerging pathways, while preserving the skills and knowledge of the generations that have preceded us.  

We’re proud sponsors of the UK Maritime Heritage Forum, because it is a brilliant platform for professionals from all walks of maritime conservation to come together. We are delighted to support and share our knowledge from a relatively unique perspective with those who work on these historic ships day in, day out.”