Professor Alastair D. Couper began his career as a Ships Officer and qualified Master Mariner. He then became a Research Scholar working on Pacific Studies at the Australian National University before returning to the UK to take up academic posts at the University of Durham, followed by the University of Cardiff and the World Maritime University in Sweden. His books include Voyages of Abuse (Pluto Press 1999), Seafarers' Rights (Part One) Oxford University Press 2005, and Sailors and Traders (University of Hawaii Press) 2009. He is on the Board of Seafarers' Rights International.