Chief Engineers - R Keir

Ronnie Keir - Chief Engineer, Queen Mary 2

RK

Ronnie Keir was born and brought up in Clydebank, Scotland, within the sound of John Browns Shipyard, where most of the great Cunarder's were built. After leaving school in 1964, he started a five year engineering apprenticeship in the shipyard. During the 3rd & 4th years of his apprenticeship, when construction on the Queen Elizabeth 2, he became involved in the manufacture of the turbines and gearboxes for the liner. He attended Clydebank Technical College during those years and was awarded a pass with credit in engineering craft practice by the City & Guilds Institute of London. After his apprenticeship was complete a career at sea was the next step for most young shipyard engineers. Accordingly, he joined J & J Denholms of Glasgow in May 1972 as a Junior Engineer. His first ship was a 36,000 ton bulk carrier running from the West coast of USA to Australia via Japan. He remained in the same company for the following twenty five years serving on a variety of ships such as tankers, container ships, roro ferries and passenger ships. In 1987, Ronnie was appointed Chief Engineer for the first time and served on a highly technical dive support vessel based in the North Sea. In 2001 he was installed as a Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology.

The greatest highlight of his career was joining Cunard in January 2003 and being appointed to the Queen Elizabeth 2 as Staff Chief Engineer - a ship he had last seen 35 years before sailing down the River Clyde. This highlight was soon eclipsed in September 2003 when he was appointed to stand by the construction of the Queen Mary 2 in Saint Nazaire, France as the second Chief Engineer of Cunard's latest and greatest liner.


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