Meet our new Head of Maritime

Following the departure of our previous Head of Maritime Shajan Lukose to take up a role with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Lizzie Dykes has been appointed to the role.

Lizzie was formerly Maritime Client and Commercial Manager at FNC, and before that a Programme Manager and lecturer.  However, Lizzie’s association with us goes back further than that, as she was also a student here. 

Lizzie studied the SQA Higher National Diploma in Nautical Science and the Officer of the Watch Certificate of Competency at Fleetwood before embarking on a career at sea. Lizzie later achieved the Chief Mate Certificate of Competency. During her time at sea, Lizzie worked on coastal and then deep-sea tankers, travelling around the UK and North Europe and then around Asia, the Gulf, Australia and New Zealand.

Since returning to Fleetwood as an educator in 2017, Lizzie has added a Masters Degree in Sustainable Maritime Operations to her list of academic achievements.

Lizzie is a strong advocate for careers at sea in general and diversity in maritime in particular, inspiring, encouraging and supporting women to pursue and develop in a career at sea. 

Away from work (though we aren’t sure how she finds the time), Lizzie is a volunteer helm and navigator for the RNLI, alongside a number FNC colleagues. 

We hope for fair winds and calms seas as we all embark on the next voyage for FNC with a new Captain at the helm.