With at least half a dozen ships and hundreds of personnel at sea at any one time, Commodore Bob Thornton does not need reminding of the importance of the oceans.

But the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s most senior officer has been given the crucial task of getting that message across to the British people.

He has been chosen by senior officers to spearhead the Royal Navy’s and RFA’s input into a nationwide initiative to ensure every Briton understands the importance of the sea to everyday life in this country.

Raising awareness of maritime trade and its impact on British life is one of the cornerstones of next year’s events commemorating the 200th anniversary of Trafalgar.

But naval and maritime chiefs want more than a ‘one-year wonder’ to re-invigorate interest in the sea.

As First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Alan West recently pointed out in an interview with Navy News, too few Britons realise the importance of the sea to the nation’s livelihood – despite the fact that 95 per cent of the country’s imports and exports move by water.

Hence the launch of Sea Vision UK, an ongoing campaign designed to spread the maritime message.

From the point of view of the Royal Navy and RFA there are some rather selfish motives in supporting the initiative - the more people who know about the two organisations, the more will think about joining them.

But Cdre Thornton, as Commodore RFA in charge of the fleet of auxiliary vessels and the organisation which supports them, says the ultimate goal is for people to appreciate the sea and Britain’s navies – merchant and military – as they did in the past.

“Maritime trade is so important to our way of life, to our economy. Once you step away from a maritime environment it’s very easy to forget the sea,” he said.

“Of course, the more we get the message across to Joe Public about maritime affairs, the more they will think about the RN and RFA.”

Despite the huge growth in air travel in the past half century and the advent of the Channel Tunnel, the UK is still overwhelmingly reliant on maritime trade.

“People don’t realise that the bananas they see on the shelf at the supermarket have come through our ports,” said Cdre Thornton.

“It’s not that people don’t know, more that they just don’t think about it. You expect to see the shelves stocked when you go into a store. It’s only if the supplies fail to arrive that you notice it.”

Recent surveys have suggested the public knows little of what the Royal Navy does, and even less about the RFA’s role.

The auxiliary Navy’s image is not helped by the fact that the vast majority of its work is done beyond Britain’s shores, and port visits within the UK are often restricted by the size of RFA vessels or by the cargoes they carry, such as ammunition.

And it is not just the Royal Navy which will be celebrating next year – as well as Trafalgar 200, 2005 brings RFA 100, as the Auxiliary Service celebrates its centenary.

It is an exciting time for the RFA, which is seeing a host of new ships entering service this decade – tankers such as Wave Knight and the Bay-class amphibious vessels which are replacing the veteran Knights of the Round Table.

“I don’t believe people know the distinction between the RFA and the RN. Ninety-nine per cent of them just see a grey ship. They are not aware of the RFA or what we do,” said the Commodore, who took up his post late last year.

Among the efforts he hopes to see his 2,300 men and women making are more port visits in the UK, talks and visits to colleges and the strengthening of ties between ships and their affiliated towns.

He also believes the Navy has something to learn from the RFA.

“There’s a lot of cross-pollination between the two fleets, a flow of personnel. I also hope to use the Services’ recruiting offices to promote the RFA and find new sailors,” he said.

“At present, we rely on traditional methods of recruiting such as careers fairs.”