My father, Stuart Earnshaw, who has died aged 90, was a lifelong merchant seaman and marine engineer.

He was born in Sowerby, West Yorkshire, about as far from the sea as is possible in England, son of Stanley Earnshaw, a cotton spinner, and his wife, Bertha (nee Wade). He attended Sowerby Bridge grammar school and left home aged 15 for an apprenticeship with North East Engineering Co at their Wallsend shipyard. In 1949 he joined the merchant navy as a junior engineer with the British India (BI) company.

Stuart’s first voyage was on the MS Chindwara, departing Harwich for Bombay in January 1949. First stop was Goa. There was no return home for the next three years. Later he often talked about his astonishment as a 20-year-old, fresh from his apprenticeship in Tyneside in winter, experiencing the sights, sound and smells of this beautiful place.

BI ships had Indian crews and carried dry cargo between Bombay, Calcutta and Australia. Stuart recalled his favourite time of day at sea: the early watch as the ship began to stir from sleep, with a warm breakfast chapati from the galley.

Between voyages Stuart spent periods ashore studying for his chief engineer’s “ticket” at Liverpool Technical College. In 1957 he qualified as 1st class engineer of a motor ship and joined Bolton Steam Shipping Co as chief engineer on the MV Ruysdael.

In 1958, having married Junette Berry, whom he met in Australia, Stuart came ashore and became a marine superintendent in the City of London. Among many employed in this role by different shipping companies, at 29 he was the youngest.

In 1974, after a spell as manager of Bailey’s dry dock in Swansea, Stuart joined the Norwegian ferry company Townsend Thoresen as chief superintendent.

In the Falklands war, when the Thoresen ferry Europic was taken up from trade, Stuart oversaw the refit to equip the ship for service as a troop carrier and supply ship in the South Atlantic.

Stuart did not support the war but did all he could to ensure the volunteer crew returned safely. He was appointed MBE for this work in 1982.

In 1990 Stuart became senior marine engineer responsible for final fixes on the new P&O cruise ship Oriana. This meant Junette could join him on working cruises, a happy return to their experience on the Ruysdael when newly married.

Stuart retired at the age of 72 and moved to the Dordogne in France, where he and Junette restored a house together.

Junette died in 2018. Stuart is survived by his three children, Penelope, Simeon and me, and by four grandchildren, Florence, Rebecca, Jack and Matilda.