Simon Daniels is a qualified solicitor specialising in criminal and maritime litigation, before bringing his professional background to the academic field at Solent University, where he managed the law and business parts of the MCA-accredited Merchant Vessel Operations programme at Warsash Maritime Academy. Simon has a particular interest in the field of the criminalisation of the ship's master and, in 2012, was awarded a PhD for his thesis on the subject. In August 2019, Simon left Solent and established a new career in maritime research and consultancy. He designed and delivered on-line courses for the Nautical Institute, most notably in criminalisation.