A single email set Alfie Allen on course for a seafaring career that has led him to win the Maritime and Coastguard Agency's (MCA) Officer Trainee of the Year Award 2025.
Officer Trainee of the Year Award winner Alfie Allen (left) and Aviation, Maritime and Decarbonisation Minister Keir Mather MP (Photo: UK Chamber of Shipping)
The journey culminated last night (2 February 2026) when he was presented with his prize by Aviation, Maritime and Decarbonisation Minister Keir Mather at the President’s Reception ahead of the UK Chamber of Shipping Annual Dinner at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House hotel, London.
Each year the award recognises an exceptional Merchant Navy officer trainee who has demonstrated high levels of academic achievement, professional progress, and personal leadership.
Alfie (20) traces his achievement to the sole reply he received to 20 letters and emails he sent as a 16-year-old schoolboy to shipping companies asking about a way into the maritime industry.
An invitation to tour the Hull-Rotterdam ferry showed the way forward and confirmed his enthusiasm for life on board, first kindled aged 10 when he joined the Sea Cadets.
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