Learn@Shore
Choose from a range of commercial shipping specialisms to enhance your professional development of the maritime industry. This is our Learn@Shore edication suite:
Choose from 14 expertly crafted courses ranging from Marine Insurance to Tanker Chartering.
Look at the full list of courses here
-
-
Designed for newcomers without maritime experience. Offers a broad introduction to the industry, including why shipping exists; ship types; maritime law, geography; and various industry roles—perfect for building initial familiarity with shore-based shipping.
-
Focuses on the commercial and operational structure of liner shipping. Key topics include liner cargo operations, containerisation, multimodal transport, bills of lading, and legal frameworks specific to liner trade.
-
Explores the roles of ship managers and operators on shore. Topics include vessel registration/classification, marine insurance, crew logistics, bunkering, cargo planning, and voyage estimation—ideal for shore-side roles in ship management and operations.
-
Owing to our heritage we operate on similar lines to the Royal Navy. Both cadets and volunteers enter a rank structure on joining. As they learn and master new skills they rise through the structure. More qualified Sea Cadets often share in the guiding of younger, less qualified cadets. A cadet can progress to Petty Officer Cadet. Volunteers begin as civilian instructors (other than those joining unit management teams) and after a six month probationary period is completed can opt to be uniformed instructors, they could rise to the rank of Warrant Officer or be selected as Officers, some can rise to the rank of Commander. Those joining Royal Marines Cadets follow a rank structure aligned to the Royal Marines.
-
An in-depth legal overview of shipping from a shore‑side perspective. Topics include ship registration, Admiralty jurisdiction, maritime liens, collisions, liability limitation, pollution, general average, salvage, charter‑party law, and bills of lading.
-
Delves into the vital shore‑based role of port agents. Explores ship types, international trade routes, daily agency duties, legal aspects, and port documentation requirements—essential for aspiring port agency professionals.
-
A high-level, integrative overview of the entire shipping industry from a shore-based perspective. It ties together aspects of commercial shipping, legal frameworks, port agency, chartering, and operations—providing a holistic foundation for any maritime shore-side role.
-
Focused on the tanker shipping sector, this course covers tanker vessel types, oil market history, Worldscale freight rate systems, charter-party fundamentals, and relevant maritime documentation and legal principles. Excellent for aspiring tanker brokers or chartering professionals.
-
This specialization explores the buying and selling of vessels on the second-hand market. Core topics include contract negotiation, ship inspections, valuation and financing, due diligence, and the legal frameworks governing vessel transactions. Ideal for those pursuing careers in shipbroking and consultancy.
-
Blending economic theory with real-world maritime examples, this course examines freight markets, supply-demand dynamics, fuel economics, cost structures, and voyage optimisation. Prepares professionals for roles in freight analysis, chartering economics, and strategic shipping operations.
-
Covers the fundamentals of marine insurance, including policy types, underwriting principles, risk assessment, claim handling procedures, P&I Clubs, and the legal mechanisms affecting coverage and liability. Essential for shipowners, operators, and maritime insurers.
-
-
-
Our subscription is flexible so you can cancel any time. Some of our learners only want to work through the course content for a few weeks to brush up on their skills and others want to use the platform as an ongoing support tool and subscribe for longer.
You only need to pay as long as you want access to course content.
-
Once you've completed a course, you will receive a certificate which can be downloaded, printed, or added to your LinkedIn profile.
-
Cancelling is very easy. While you are logged in, just go to Activities>Subscriptions in the main menu and choose which subscription you'd like to cancel. Your access will remain open for as long as you've paid for, so if you've just paid for a month you will have access for the rest of that month but will not be charged again.
-
No, our Learn@Shore courses – unlike Learn@Sea – do not comprise any assessments or quizzes. These courses are simply text resources to be used a revision aid to help build your knowledge of the subject.
-
First of all, we're a charity. We believe seafarers deserve access to life enhancing education wherever they are in the world and we don't think that anyone's financial circumstances should get in the way of completing one of our courses. We deliberately sell the courses at a price well below the commercial rate so that everyone can afford access. These courses are not funded, they are simply commercial courses.
If you want to help us fund this programme you can click here to make a donation.
-
Yes! Whether you want to upskill in order to gain a promotion in your chosen sector, or simply refresh your skills and knowledge, our courses will give you the skills and confidence you need to start your journey.
-
Yes, the app is free to download but you first need to set up or renew your subscription.
-
We recommend the free Skills Radar assessment, which will tell you what you are good at and where you need to improve. When you download the app, you’ll see that it is automatically included.
-
The app remembers where you were and what you did. Look at the study menu on the top right-hand side and select Learning Lines. There, you can see all of the things you did from when you started using the platform. A statement might say ‘I Understood this’ or ‘I read this’.
-
Stay in touch with the Marine Society by following us on Twitter: @ MarineSociety. Check https://www.marine-society.org/learnatshore to look out for new courses.
-
