Burness Corlett Three Quays

What Burness Corlett Three Quays does

Burness Corlett Three Quays (BCTQ) is a UK-headquartered specialist maritime consultancy formed in 2005 from the merger of Burness Corlett & Partners (established 1952 as naval architects and marine engineers) and Three Quays Marine Services (the former technical services division of P&O). The firm operates from five offices — Newcastle-upon-Tyne (registered headquarters), Southampton, London, Isle of Man, and a Dubai regional office covering the Gulf — and delivers professional services to global commercial and leisure marine clients as owner's representative or technical advisor to shipyards.

The core service catalogue spans marine design and naval architecture, marine engineering, new build/refit/conversion project management, marine expert services (expert witness and forensic engineering), marine safety services, marine survey services, and maritime corporate services, with dedicated practices in superyachts, tall ships and historic vessels, offshore wind and renewables, offshore structures and rigs, and offshore support vessels. BCTQ also develops and licenses a portfolio of proprietary maritime software: BASIN (non-linear time-domain CFD for hydrodynamics), MATHMAN (manoeuvring simulation, integrated with GRC's PARAMARINE and used by the UK Ministry of Defence), HYDAS (intact and damage stability suite), LOADCALC, SALVCALC, and EQUIMOOR (mooring analysis). The firm is an MCA-appointed Certifying Authority for Small Commercial Vessels across four codes and holds ISO 9001/9002/9003 certification.

Revenue is generated entirely through professional services fees (project-based consulting, technical studies, on-site survey and supervision, expert witness, and software licensing) charged to ship owners, operators, builders, superyacht owners, government agencies, and heritage trusts. Pricing is project-specific and not publicly disclosed. The company is privately held by Burness Corlett Three Quays Limited, a UK private limited company, and is not listed.

Name

Burness Corlett Three Quays

Legal name

Burness Corlett Three Quays Limited

Website

https://bctq.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1952

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Burness Corlett Three Quays is a UK private maritime consultancy delivering naval architecture, marine engineering, survey, safety, expert witness, and proprietary hydrodynamics software to ship owners, superyacht clients, government agencies, and heritage trusts across five UK and Gulf offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Ramsey

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Maritime Consulting Services: Professional consulting services for the maritime sector including naval architecture, marine engineering, survey services, safety services, expert witness, and technical studies. Revenue generated through fees for professional services rendered to ship owners, operators, builders, and regulatory bodies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

BCTQ is an integrated maritime consultancy delivering naval architecture, marine engineering, new build/refit/conversion project management, expert witness and forensic engineering, marine safety services, and worldwide rapid-response marine survey services for commercial and leisure marine clients. The firm also develops and licenses proprietary maritime software (BASIN, MATHMAN, HYDAS, LOADCALC, SALVCALC, EQUIMOOR) and acts as an MCA-appointed Certifying Authority for Small Commercial Vessels.

Product overview

BCTQ is a fully integrated maritime consultancy formed in 2005 from the merger of Burness Corlett & Partners (established 1952) and Three Quays Marine Services (former P&O technical services division). The company offers a comprehensive suite of professional services and proprietary software products for the global commercial and leisure marine industry. Core consultancy services span marine design and naval architecture, marine engineering, new build/refit/conversion project management, marine expert services (expert witness and forensic engineering), marine safety services, and marine survey services. The company also develops and markets a portfolio of specialized maritime software including BASIN (computational fluid dynamics), MATHMAN (manoeuvring simulator), HYDAS (stability analysis suite), LOADCALC, SALVCALC, and EQUIMOOR. Services extend to superyachts, tall ships and historic vessels, offshore windfarm and renewables support, offshore structures, and maritime corporate services. BCTQ holds MCA Certifying Authority status for Small Commercial Vessels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Marine Design & Naval Architecture Comprehensive naval architecture and vessel design services covering concept design through to detailed plans, including seakeeping analysis, structural design, and stability calculations for all vessel types, targeting commercial maritime operators and shipbuilders.
• Marine Engineering Full spectrum marine engineering services including propulsion systems design and appraisal, machinery optimization, electrical systems design, and technical support for new builds and refits, targeting ship owners and operators.
• Marine New Build / Refit / Conversion Project management and technical consultancy throughout the vessel construction or modification lifecycle, including pre-contract services, yard procurement, plan approval, and warranty support for commercial and leisure marine clients.
• Marine Expert Services Expert witness, forensic engineering, and advanced computational analysis services for litigation support, casualty investigation, and technical studies including collision reconstruction and stability analysis, targeting legal firms, insurers, and ship owners.
• Marine Safety Services Voyage-based safety training and shipboard audit services covering emergency response, fire prevention, pollution avoidance, and ISM code compliance for commercial vessel operators, with 200+ technical/safety audits conducted annually.
• Marine Survey Services Worldwide rapid response marine survey services including pre-purchase inspections, asset protection monitoring, hull and machinery damage surveys, and condition assessments for banks and financial organisations.
• Superyacht Technical Services Integrated technical consultancy for superyachts covering naval architecture, marine engineering, new builds, refits, conversions, expert services, safety services, survey services, and marine procurement for luxury yacht owners and builders.
• BCTQ Maritime Corporate Services Strategic, operational, and financial consultancy services for maritime organisations including business strategy, acquisition support, privatization, and marketing services for private and public sector maritime clients.
• Tall Ships and Historic Vessels Services Survey, conservation, and restoration consultancy for historic ships with exclusive design license agreement covering Colin Mudie RDI's tall ship library, including feasibility studies, design, procurement, and construction management for heritage fleet owners.
• Windfarm / Renewables Support Offshore wind farm support services including vessel procurement advice, design suitability reviews, and construction vessel interface assessment for renewable energy operators and developers.
• Offshore Structures / Rigs Services Engineering services for offshore platforms including finite element analysis, seismic and fatigue analysis, helideck design, mooring analysis, and IMO/MODU compliance for offshore oil, gas, and renewables operators.
• Offshore Support Vessels Services Product development and sales/marketing support for offshore support vessel designs, leveraging special-purpose vessel expertise across naval architecture to safety services.
• Marine Procurement Services Servicing, materials and equipment procurement and distribution logistics with 24/7 response capability worldwide, operating under BS EN ISO 9001 quality assurance standards.
• MCA Certifying Authority MCA-appointed certifying authority for Small Commercial Vessels operating under Blue Code, Yellow Code, Red Code, and Brown Code of practice, providing statutory certification for British boats used commercially at sea.
• BASIN (Computational Fluid Dynamics) Proprietary CFD package using fully non-linear time-domain boundary element approach for analysis of generalized hydrodynamics problems including seakeeping, wave resistance, and vessel interaction calculations, sold/licensed to naval architects and marine engineers.
• MATHMAN (Manoeuvring Simulator) Industry-leading manoeuvring simulation package for vessel track reconstruction, collision and grounding investigation, and port/channel design studies, integrated with PARAMARINE naval architectural design package.
• HYDAS (Stability Analysis Suite) Fully integrated software suite for analysis of intact and damage stability, progressive flooding, longitudinal strength, motions, and grounding, supporting probabilistic damage stability calculations per SOLAS regulations.
• LOADCALC Shipboard loading and stability system designed for easy use on vessels by shipboard staff.
• SALVCALC Self-contained PC loading and stability system with damage and grounding force analysis capabilities suitable for ISM applications.
• EQUIMOOR Software for static and dynamic analysis of ship mooring systems, used in offshore and port engineering design.

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• UK Chamber of ShippingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBCTQ management and consultancy teams represent their industry sector on this key industry representative body.
• International Chamber of ShippingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBCTQ management participates in international shipping industry representation activities.
• British Standards Institution (BSI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBCTQ participates in BSI Standards working groups contributing to maritime standards development.
• International Maritime Organization (IMO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBCTQ participates in IMO Working Groups and Working Groups with the Marine and Coastguard Agency.
• Colin Mudie RDIflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerExclusive Design License Agreement giving BCTQ access to Colin Mudie's extensive library of tall ship designs and associated information for use in development of future projects. BCTQ and Colin Mudie have 25 years of association in tall ship design.
• GRC LtdcoreTechnology or IntegrationBCTQ worked with GRC Ltd to integrate MATHMAN as a design tool into GRC's PARAMARINE naval architectural design package, used by the UK Ministry of Defence.
• Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerBCTQ is an MCA appointed Certifying Authority for Small Commercial Vessels. Certifying Authority for Blue Code, Yellow Code, Red Code, and Brown Code.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Wärtsilä Marine: Major marine technology supplier providing ship systems, lifecycle services, and engineering advisory across the global maritime industry — overlaps with BCTQ's marine engineering and refit services.
• DNV: Global classification society and maritime advisory firm providing surveys, technical assurance, and naval architecture advisory across the maritime industry — overlapping with BCTQ's classification-adjacent and survey activities at a much larger scale.
• Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore: Global testing, inspection, and certification body covering marine classification, offshore, and shipbuilding consultancy — overlapping with BCTQ's certification and shipyard supervision activities.
• Lloyd's Register: Established maritime classification society offering ship classification, statutory certification, and technical consultancy — comparable to BCTQ's MCA certifying authority and survey services.
• Haskoning (Royal HaskoningDHV): International engineering consultancy with a maritime division covering vessel design, ports, and offshore installations — comparable to BCTQ's offshore wind and structures work, but at much larger scale.

Direct peers

• BMT Group: Independent maritime and naval architecture consultancy offering ship design, engineering, and programme management to commercial marine, defence, and offshore clients — directly comparable to BCTQ's integrated consultancy model.
• Foreship: Specialist naval architecture and engineering consultancy serving cruise, ferry, and offshore clients — closely comparable to BCTQ in vessel design, owner's representative services, and proprietary stability tools.
• Vuyk Engineering Rotterdam: Dutch naval architecture and marine engineering consultancy designing ferries, offshore vessels, and special ships — closely comparable niche consultancy profile to BCTQ.
• Glosten: Independent naval architecture and marine engineering consultancy working on ferries, research vessels, offshore platforms, and unusual vessel programmes — directly comparable scope to BCTQ.

Emerging players

• McQuilling Partners: Specialist maritime consultancy focused on market intelligence, corporate finance, and operational strategy for shipping clients — overlaps with BCTQ Maritime Corporate Services practice.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bctq-maritime-corporate-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Burness Corlett Three Quays