The navy veteran guiding cruises away from storms

A former Royal Navy meteorologist now guides cruise ships away from storms from a west London office, keeping passengers safe and comfortable throughout their journeys.

From a base near Heathrow, Paul Mitchell, 56, spends his days, and often his nights, directing some of the world's largest cruise ships thousands of miles away.

He works from MSC Cruises' Maritime Support Centre in Stockley Park, leading a team responsible for monitoring weather conditions across the oceans and advising captains on how to avoid dangerous storms.

"Smooth sailing doesn't happen accidentally," said Mitchell, adding that his job is about making sure a "bad weather forecast" does not "become a holiday memory".

Mitchell, who grew up in Portugal, developed an early fascination with the weather after watching Atlantic storms roll in from the shoreline and "the massive waves crashing".

After leaving school, he faced a choice between a career with the UK Met Office or the option to "join the Navy and see the world", opting for the latter in 1988.

He went on to serve for nearly 35 years.

Mitchell began as a meteorological observer, gathering data and maintaining instruments, before becoming an assistant forecaster and eventually a meteorologist and oceanographer.

His work took him to conflict zones including Sierra Leone, Bosnia and Afghanistan, where he served as a forecaster at Camp Bastion.

By the end of his naval career, he had spent more than a decade at sea.

Mitchell said this experience meant he felt like a "perfect fit" for the role at the support centre, as he could "bring that global experience to the team here".

Monitoring the weather and oceanography is a 24/7, 365 days-a-year operation and the team supports 23 ships travelling everywhere from the Mediterranean to East Asia.

Captains regularly report local conditions back to the support centre, allowing the team to make route adjustments when forecasts indicate worsening seas or strong winds.

"Every day is different; every day is a busy day, particularly through the winter months," Mitchell said.

It is a vital behind-the-scenes operation that passengers do not "know anything about", he explained.

He said he enjoyed working in this "fairly silent way", keeping "everything nice and smooth" and making sure that "customers get the best holiday".

Alongside day‑to‑day forecasting, Mitchell is also involved in a new project that uses artificial intelligence to improve short‑term predictions in ports.

MSC Cruises is installing live weather stations in Italy, with two already operating in Rome and Genoa.

The stations provide real‑time conditions as ships approach, and the AI system analyses local patterns to give captains a clearer view of how winds are likely to change hours or even days later.

He said: "So far, the feedback we're getting and what we're seeing, is about 30% more accurate than a normal forecast. So it's really game-changing for the captains."

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