Rate My Professor Zakirul Bhuiyan

Captain Zakirul Bhuiyan, MSc, MBA, PGCE, SFHEA, FNI, FRIN, is Associate Professor of Maritime Simulation and Autonomy, Manager of Maritime Simulation and Ship Handling, and Founding Director of the Warsash Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) Research Centre at Warsash Maritime School, Southampton Solent University. Possessing over 30 years of maritime industry experience, including more than 17 years of sea service in worldwide trade, he began his career as a junior officer with Valles Steamship (Canada) Ltd in 1992 and took command in 2003 of the 171,000 mt deadweight Gateway Bulker, one of the largest capesize bulkers built at the time. Transitioning to education, he served as lecturer at NAFC Marine Centre in Shetland in 2005 before joining Southampton Solent University in 2006 as Senior Lecturer and Course Leader for Bridge Simulation at the School of Maritime Science and Engineering. He has since advanced to Research and Innovation Coordinator (2015), Unit Leader for MSc Maritime Transport and Operations, and his current positions. Bhuiyan delivers lectures on bespoke and standard bridge simulation courses to cadets, officers, masters, pilots, and managers; leads course design, assessments, and audits (including MCA, EMSA, Ofsted); and maintains partnerships with shipping companies and ports such as Red Funnel, Associated British Ports, P&O Maritime, Seatruck Ferries, Shell, BP, and the Royal Navy for consultancy training.

Bhuiyan's research focuses on maritime operations, simulation pedagogy, human elements in shipping, e-navigation, and autonomous surface ships. As principal investigator, he led EU-funded Sea Traffic Management (part of €43 million consortium, 2015-2019), MariEMS (€293,972, 2015-2018), Innovate UK MAXCMAS, and SLTI seed-funded bridge simulation studies; he is co-investigator on MarRI-UK IGNITE for remote-controlled MASS and contributed to HORIZON and MARTHA on seafarer fatigue. Key publications encompass 'AI in Maritime Security: Applications, Challenges, Future Directions, and Key Data Sources' (2025), 'Bridge Simulator as a Training Platform for Future Remotely Controlled MASS Navigators' (2024), 'MASS, COLREG, and Technologies' (2024, WMU Studies in Maritime Affairs), 'Emergence of Cloud Simulation as a Virtual Learning Tool in Maritime Education' (2022), 'Drawing the Line' (2021), and chapters in 'Bridge Resource Management: Volume 2' and 'Master's Guide on ECDIS'. He edits the Journal of Navigation, contributes to IMO HTW and NCSR working groups since 2014, serves on the Nautical Institute Technical Committee and Solent Branch of Nautical Institute/Royal Institute of Navigation, and presents at international conferences. Honors include Senior Fellowship from Advance HE (2017), Fellowship of the Royal Institute of Navigation (2015), and Fellowship of the Nautical Institute (2012).