Mick de Ruyter has enjoyed a naval career in hydrography and mine warfare, combined with an academic career in maritime archaeology. Mick joined the Royal Australian Navy as a midshipman at ADFA in 1992, and went on to specialise as a hydrographic surveyor. He served in a variety of ships for border protection, mine countermeasures and surveying, including on peace keeping duties in the Solomon Islands.
After advanced hydrographic training in the UK, Mick took command of HMAS Mermaid in 2007 for surveys on the north coast of Australia. Following an operations posting in hydrography, Mick left permanent service in 2010 to pursue a role in maritime education and training in the UAE. During this period overseas, Mick re-specialised as a maritime archaeologist and returned to Australia to complete a PhD in archaeology at Flinders University, where he graduated in 2021.
Since re-joining Navy as a reservist in 2019, Mick has had part-time roles as a staff officer, including secondment to Unrecovered War Casualties–Army to provide specialist archaeological support in the successful search for the Japanese POW ship Montevideo Maru in 2023. He continues to work in an advisory capacity with Sea Power Centre–Australia on Defence underwater cultural heritage issues, including underwater casualty sites with Army and Air Force. Mick transferred to regular service in 2024 and maintains an academic affiliation with Flinders University.
