SPEAKERS

Dr Stuart Cannon

Stuart first dived on a shipwreck off the Cornish coast soon after his fourteenth birthday with his local BSAC club. His passions for shipwreck diving ultimately lead him to study naval architecture at university, with the primary aim of finding out what he was diving on. Whilst at University Stuart became a member of the Nautical Archaeological Society and spent many hours on the salvage project "die Frau Metta Catherina von Flensberg". Since his University days, Stuart has specialised in the performance of surface warships. During his research career he has been called in as an expert witness for a variety of ship losses including the Herald of Free Enterprise and the MV Derbyshire. In his current capacity he has advised the Australian government on a range of naval architectural issues associated with the major surface fleet. Most recently Stuart led the joint team that evaluated the technical aspects of the sinking of HMAS Sydney II and the HSK Kormoran. These investigations were presented at the Commission of Inquiry and formed the technical basis of the overall findings. He was awarded a Chief of Defence Force Commendation for this work.

Stuart has published extensively in the naval architectural domain and represents Australia in a number of international forums associated with surface ship performance. He is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects and is currently the President of the Australian Division. In his spare time Stuart enjoys studying the history of his profession which often means donning his dive kit and visiting old ships. Stuart still maintains his BSAC membership and is a National Instructor and Coach for Australia.