Ethics in the Maritime Industry

Claudene Sharp-Patel CMarTech FIMarEST

Global Technical Director, Marine and Offshore, Lloyds Register

Claudene joined the marine industry over 30 years ago, having wide experience in maritime, shipping, salvage/MCI, upstream oil and Gas, and wind installation/MWS, Terminal operations, assurance and Oil and Gas/renewable industries in various roles and senior management positions. Claudene started her career as a sea-going Marine Engineering with BHP on dry-bulk carriers, ROROs, Container Vessels and Chemical tankers, transferring onto Oil and LNG vessels with Shell UK and primarily with BP Shipping. However, never one to stop during leave periods continued building experience on General cargo vessels and passenger ships.  Although holding a Bachelor of Technology (Marine Engineering) and Combined Chief Engineer (Motor and Steam), Claudene continued studying obtaining an MBA in Maritime Law and Logistics Management. 

Although Claudene’s background is technical, her training in her shore career in Shipping companies and energy companies support the understanding of shipping, terminal operations/activities and marine activities, has assisted seeing these operations holistically and impactfully.  Claudene’s more recent roles as Global Technical Director Lloyd’s Register, and Shell Australia Prelude (Prelude Marine Terminal Coordinator) further adds to her understanding of current Marine and Offshore roles, activities and operations.  Claudene’s current role as Global Technical Director for Lloyds Register allows an input in the strategy and technical requirements for the industry both legislated or required through IMO/IACS and supporting customers and the industry find safe technical solutions within Decarbonisation, Digitalisation, Marine safety assurance and Offshore Safety Assurance.

Claudene was previously a registered consultant to IMO, and has been continuously active within OCIMF in several groups/working groups including Representative at GPC, Vice Chairman of OCIMF Technical Group, and member of SIRE Focus Group.  These experiences bringing a wide understanding of incidents, consequences, legislation, regulations and implementation. Claudene is a Fellow of IMarEST and served for 6 years as Vice President and culminating as Vice Chair of Technical Leadership Board of IMarEST and is currently the President Elect IMarEST

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Del Redvers

Sustainability Director, BMT

Del is BMT’s Global Sustainability Director with nearly three decades of professional experience across different aspects of sustainability from cities to oceans, from shipping to energy and from global mega-corporations to small NGOs. He’s a TEDx speaker and passionate about the need for purpose driven businesses and working across sectors to deliver change.

Del also chairs the board of Changeworks, one of the UK’s leading social enterprises and independent environmental charities that applies innovation to programme delivery at scale to achieve net zero.

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Sue Harland

Course Leader, Maritime Operations, Warsash Maritime School, Southampton Solent University

Sue joined the maritime industry nearly 40 years ago and has experience as chief officer on a variety of vessel types including tankers, dredgers and ferries. After coming ashore, Sue was the first female editor of Sailing Directions at the UK Hydrographic Office and was responsible for the production of a wide range of nautical publications. Sue has been a lecturer at Warsash Maritime School for the past 11 years.

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Sam Bird CEng Bsc MRINA

Head of Technology, Cairn Risk Consulting Ltd

Sam is a chartered engineer with 12 years' experience within mechanical and maritime engineering in the OEM, consultancy and regulatory environments. 

A broad and varied career has allowed sam to gain a hollistic view of engineering and risk management having delivered projects on both ship and shore-based installations including large scale ship design and optimisation for operation along with safety assessments of industrial shore-side installations, bespoke mechanical devlopments and high-risk procedural operations.

Sams career transitioned to a speciality in design focused safety in 2020, after 7 years delivering engineering projects in the commercial and defence maritime sectors, utilising his skills in engineering design to help clients successfully protect their staff and the public effectively via proactive design considerations. Currently applying this to ever-developing renewables industry, balancing management of risk with promoting innovation is the core aim.

Sam joined Cairn Risk in January 2023 bringing with him a decade's experience in project delivery and an astute ability to problem solve to help constructors and innovators transform the energy landscape via a safe and pragmatic approach.

 

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Alan Crowle FIMarEST

Naval Architect, University of Exeter

Alan Crowle is a naval architect studying for a Master of Philosophy at the University of Exeter. The focus of the research is on the load-out, fit-out, tow-out, and installation of floating offshore wind turbines and floating substations.

He has 55 years of marine engineering experience in the design, construction, and offshore installation of marine structures for renewable energy, oil and gas, and LNG terminals. He is a fellow of IMarEST, RINA, and the Society of Consulting Marine Engineers and Ship Surveyors and a member of the Energy Institute.

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Noelita Fernando

Technology Lead, Marine Science, Lloyd's Register

Noelita Fernando is the Technology Lead, Marine Science within the Technical Directorate of Lloyd's Register. She is an Early Career Ocean Professional and has an academic background in marine biology and oceanography. Her work primarily focuses on biodiversity initiatives to reduce environmental pressures from shipping, extending from underwater noise to collisions with marine mammals. She aims to integrate science with technology and policy to advance ocean stewardship and to promote sustainable maritime practices. 

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Cdr Edward Higgins MBE CEng FIMarEST MIET MWES RN

Royal Navy

Cdr Ed Higgins RN joined the Service after reading degrees in Mechanical and Marine Engineering at the University of Southampton as a sponsored undergraduate. On completion of nuclear training, he was assigned to HMS Victorious as Assistant Marine Engineer Officer (AMEO) and completed two Deterrent Patrols. Shore assignments to the Defence School of Marine Engineering and to Submarine Flotilla followed before a return to sea as Deputy Marine Engineer Officer (DMEO). Competing four years in HMS Vigilant as DMEO and MEO, he undertook two WESTLANT Deployments, two deterrent Patrols and a 15-month commission extension docking maintenance period. For his contribution to an 8-month Covid-19 isolated combined WESTLANT deployment and Patrol, he was appointed MBE in the 2022 New Year’s Honours List. Following a short period in Navy Command HQ as Fleet Upkeep Officer, he volunteered for a return to Professional Command as MEO HMS Vanguard. In this role he delivered the final 14 months of re-fit commissioning activities, including reactor Power Range Testing, before undertaking sea trials and a DASO deployment. He promoted to Commander on assignment to HMS Dreadnought in April 2024. A Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineering Science and Technology (IMarEST), he has been a member of the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) for several years and is the current Lead Male Ally of the Naval Servicewomens Network (NSN). Living near Portsmouth with his wife Heather and son Jonathan (12), he enjoys offshore sailing, owning a collection of unreliable cars and long-distance running.

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Dr Derin Kent

Associate Professor, University of Warwick

Derin Kent is Associate Professor of Organisation Studies at Warwick Business School, United Kingdom and Co-Director of the WBS Extreme Contexts Unit. He specialises in ethnographic research with people who work in extreme contexts, i.e., those that are physically or psychologically dangerous, investigating themes such as engaging work, personal growth, and theorising from unconventional settings. In previous and ongoing research he has embedded with commercial seafarers, disaster relief workers, and storm chasing teams. Derin’s research appears in Academy of Management Journal, Organization Studies, Harvard Business Review, and The Conversation UK, among other outlets. At Warwick Business School, he teaches across postgraduate and MBA programmes, focusing on change management, career management, and organisational behaviour. He earned his PhD at Queen’s University, Canada and was previously a postdoc at Aalto University, Finland.

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Rahul Kulkarni AFNI, MBA

Senior LNG and Shipping industry leader

Senior Energy Industry executive with c20 years international corporate experience at an International Oil & Gas Company; preceded by c16 years frontline and operational leadership experience in International Shipping, seeking a new challenge in a senior management level role.

I am internationally mobile and have a firm grasp of strategic, technical and commercial aspects of the international energy and shipping domain, having spent vast majority of my career associated with the international Gas & LNG trading + shipping industry. I have a strong track record of strategic leadership and development of best-in-class capability to enable outstanding business performance, and an extensive industry network with strong senior level relationships across industry. I have extensive board level experience as a director in the maritime sector to drive strategic change and transformation.

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Dr Gloria Kutscher

Lecturer, University of Southampton

Gloria Kutscher is a Lecturer in Organisation Studies at the University of Southampton, United Kingdom. Gloria conducts research on how organisations and individual actors make sense of and respond to different forms of hardship in ways that lead to personal growth and positive social change. She has been working with seafarers and seafaring charities, over the years exploring topics including seafarer wellbeing, technological change, and work-life boundaries. Her research has been published in both academic and practitioner-oriented outlets such as Organization Studies, Harvard Business Review, and the Routledge Companion to Organizational Diversity Research Methods. Gloria’s teaching ranges across undergraduate, postgraduate, MBA, focusing on organisation and management, careers, international business and positive change. She received a PhD from WU Vienna, Austria and has been a postdoc at Aalto University, Finland before joining Southampton.

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Adriano Lima

Senior Project Officer and Scientific Programmer, Atlantic International Research Centre

Adriano Lima is an R&D Scientist specializing in environmental fluid dynamics, sediment transport, and data science. He obtained both his MEng and PhD and previously served as an assistant professor at Hokkaido University, Japan, in the field of environmental hydraulics. His work spans several sectors of the Blue Economy, with contributions to strategic prioritization, as well as R&D&I projects in aquaculture, marine energy, ports, and maritime tourism. He is also Secretariat Member of the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON), and Developer at the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership (SBEP). As part of the Atlantic Whale Deal Project, Adriano is leading the development of an interactive, web-based, data-driven application aimed at reducing the risk of vessel-whale collisions.

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Thuladu Mazibuko

Maritime Professional

Thuladu Mazibuko is a maritime professional with years of experience. Her career began at the Durban University of Technology and the South African Navy, before recently earning a Master of Science in Maritime Operations and Management from City St George’s, University of London. Driven by a deep interest in research, environmental aspects, and technological innovation amid the global energy transition, she is committed to protecting and conserving the marine environment while advancing sustainable business practices. She believes in constantly finding strategies to deliver impactful service and leading with purpose to build a better future. Beyond her maritime career, she is passionate about empowering the youth, particularly girls and women. She further enjoys volunteering, leisure walks, time with family, and traveling.

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Lizzie McCaig

Team Lead Rule Development, Lloyd's Register

Lizzie has extensive experience in structural rule development, regulatory implementation, and ship design appraisal. Her work spans key technical areas including loads for ships and special service craft, structural integrity, additive manufacturing, and goal‑based standards, alongside active participation in international regulatory forums. Over her career at Lloyd’s Register, she has contributed to a broad range of projects covering ship structures, safety and regulatory updates, and engineering assessments, and has previously served as Technical Secretary to the IACS Hull Panel. Her perspective centres on how regulatory frameworks shape design decisions, particularly where gaps, interpretation, and accountability place increasing ethical responsibility on designers.

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Samson Onyeabor

Marine QHSE Compliance Lead Consultant, D&S Maritime and ISO Consultancy Ltd, UK

Samson Henshaw Onyeabor is a senior maritime safety, compliance, and energy transition professional with over 18 years’ experience across maritime shipping, oil and gas, transport/logistics, offshore windfarms, and renewable energy sectors. He specialises in decarbonisation strategies, renewable energy fuel integration, and hybrid marine power systems. Samson has led the implementation of hybrid fuel technology deployments on operational vessels and developed business cases for fleet-wide adoption in Singapore, UK and Dubai UAE. He holds an MSc in Maritime Safety and Security Management from City, University of London and MBA in Ship Management at Cyprus Business School. His current research is focused on hydrogen and hybrid fuel systems adoption on offshore vessels and subsequent optimisation with Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning. As a recognised industry speaker in several international conferences around the globe, Samson contributes to advancing safe, efficient, and ethically responsible pathways toward Net Zero in global shipping.

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Inês Órfão

Scientist, MARE/ARNET - ARDITI

With a background in biology and environmental management, Inês Órfão has focused her career on species conservation, specifically regarding human-wildlife interactions. Her work is informed by years of research and a commitment to translating scientific findings into practical conservation tools, public awareness initiatives, and cross-sector strategies. As part of the project Atlantic Whale Deal dedicated to mitigating ship strikes with cetaceans and enhancing carbon sequestration in the Atlantic, she works with other researchers on the development of joint recommendations through direct collaboration between the key stakeholders and the scientific community. This goal involves facilitating the necessary synergies to integrate research-driven solutions into daily maritime operations and supporting the transition toward sustainable practices that balance industrial activity with marine preservation based on a shared responsibility.

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Captain Marion Penales

Maritime Lecturer, Sharjah Maritime Academy

Captain Marion Penales is a maritime lecturer at the Sharjah Maritime Academy with combined seagoing and academic experience. His interests focus on ethics in maritime education, leadership, and bridging the gap between regulatory compliance and real-world shipboard practice

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Captain Ann Pletschke CMarTech FIMarEST

STEER Project Manager, The Nautical Institute

Capt. Ann Pletschke CMarTech FIMarEST has over 25 years’ experience across both seagoing and shore-based maritime leadership roles. Her career has included command of modern, highly automated DP vessels, alongside senior positions responsible for marine standards and contributions to autonomous shipping development.

She is currently the Project Lead for the STEER Project, a Lloyd’s Register Foundation- funded initiative delivered by The Nautical Institute, examining the impact of emerging and existing technologies on seafarers, with a focus on human performance, safety and wellbeing.

Capt. Pletschke brings a unique combination of operational credibility and research expertise, underpinned by recent command experience. Her academic work includes research into the potential impacts of remote vessel operation on diversity and accessibility within the maritime workforce, undertaken as part of her Master of Engineering degree completed in 2024.

She has investigated multiple serious marine incidents, including fatalities, as part of her role as a Designated Person Ashore and marine consultant. Since 2013, she has led her own marine surveying and consultancy business, working across vessels spanning a wide spectrum of technological maturity, from highly advanced, data-driven operations to more low-tech vessels. This breadth of experience offers insight into disparities in technology access and implementation, as well as the varying conditions under which seafarers operate. Her involvement in maritime charitable work further highlights how technological advancement is not always applied equitably or with consistent consideration of seafarer wellbeing

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Azizur Rahman

Marine Engineering Cadet, AMET University

No bio provided

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Dr Andrew Rawson PhD BA (Hons) CEng CMarEng FRGS MIMarEST

Associate Director, NASH Maritime

Andrew is a maritime consultant and chartered engineer with 15 years experience, specialising in data analysis, modelling and navigation risk assessment. He has delivered a multitude of projects for developers, ports and governments as a project manager or technical lead. His specialism lies in developing and applying innovative quantitative methods to measure the risk of maritime accidents and predict the impact of developments such as offshore renewables. Andrew has an extensive track record in authoring Navigation Risk Assessments (NRAs), EIA technical chapters, quantitative risk assessments (QRAs) and providing specialist technical advice to clients throughout the project lifecycle. Andrew has led the development of scientific approaches to navigation risk, with numerous peer-reviewed academic publications in high impact journals. In 2022, Andrew was awarded a PhD from University of Southampton investigating the use of machine learning and big data to support maritime risk assessment. In 2023, Andrew acted as Chair of the Technical Committee at the European, Safety and Reliability Conference (ESREL).

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Harriet Rushton

SALMO Wrecks Environmental Manager, UK MOD

Harriet is a marine biologist by trade, whose worked for MOD since 2018, in various environmental management roles. She now forms half of the SALMO Wrecks team managing the environmental risk posed by the MOD’s inventory of over 5,700 Potentially Polluting Wrecks around the world.

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Martin Shutler

Principal Engineer, Hamworthy

Martin Shutler is a Principal Engineer and Product Manager at Hamworthy, a specialist provider of advanced marine wastewater, water and waste treatment solutions, based in Poole, Dorset. He has over 18 years of engineering experience across the marine, offshore, and combustion industries, with specialist expertise in wastewater and waste treatment systems.  A Chartered Engineer and member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), he leads product development and lifecycle strategy, focusing on delivering compliant, efficient, and sustainable solutions to complex environmental challenges.

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Matthew Skelhorn CGeog

Wrecks Manager, SALMO

Matt is a Wreck Manager in the Salvage and Marine Operations (SALMO) team at the National Armaments Director (NAD) Group. With his colleague Harriet Rushton he runs the Wreck Management Programme which manages the environmental and safety concerns associated with the oil and ammunition remaining on MOD owned shipwrecks. He has been involved in various projects over the last 16 years including monitoring the WWII battleship HMS Royal Oak, the removal of oil from the wreck of the tanker RFA Darkdale off St Helena, surveys of the wrecks of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse off Malaysia and a recent high resolution photogrammetric survey of HMS Cassandra in the Baltic.

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Angelina Spilnyk

PhD researcher, SustAI Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT), School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton

Angelina Spilnyk is a PhD researcher within the SustAI Centre for Doctoral Training, where her work sits at the intersection of sustainability, artificial intelligence, and marine governance. With an academic background in international public and maritime law, her research focuses on how digital systems can support biodiversity protection and strengthen legal accountability in marine environments. Her current PhD research explores the use of AI to automate and enhance compliance with marine environmental regulations, particularly in relation to the protection of marine species and habitats affected by shipping operations. She investigates how ecological and legal data can be integrated into real-time decision-support systems. By focusing on shipping corridors, her work aims to develop tools that proactively identify environmental risks and support more responsive, enforceable ocean governance. 

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Alexander Vassiliadis MNI MRIN

Maritime Lecturer

Alexander Vassiliadis has 20 years of experience in the maritime sector and 12 years of experience in the aviation sector.

His seagoing career started on container ships and bulk carriers before he moved to the cruise ship sector, where he worked his way up the ranks of Chief Officer. After leaving the ships, he underwent training to become a Commercial Pilot in 2014, at the same time he qualified to become a human factors instructor. Since 2015, Alexander is working in a variety of instructor and leadership roles in the wider training field, the last of which cover the position of Training Manager and Senior Lecturer.

Alexander holds the degree of Graduate Engineer in Nautical Science from the University of Applied Science in Elsfleth (Germany) in addition to his Certificate of Competency as Chief Officer and his Commercial Pilot License. Presently, he is studying to obtain his MSc. in Maritime Education and Training at Southampton Solent University. He is a qualified Simulator Assessor and a Member of The Nautical Institute and The Royal Institute of Navigation.

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Dr Neil Williams

Lecturer of Philosophy, University of Southampton

I am an interdisciplinary philosopher specializing in environmental philosophy, moral and political philosophy, and the history of philosophy. The different strands of my research are unified by an interest in the ways that the affective dimensions of our experience shape our beliefs and practices. ​

My current projects - funded by the AHRC and British Academy - are interdisciplinary investigations into the rights of nature. They focus on how this movement might both empower local communities and challenge our exploitative relationships with the natural world. 

Inspired by American pragmatism, I am committed to the idea that concepts find their meaning in practical application, and that research is best conducted within a diverse community of inquirers. For this reason, I act as an editor for the journal Public Humanities, and participate in public engagement whenever possible. 

I work as an Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Southampton. There you can find me teaching​ on topics including: environmental philosophy, ethics, and the history of philosophy.

When I'm not doing philosophy, I spend my time running, reading, playing games, and (recently) painting. Philosophical thought keeps threatening to intrude when I am doing these things, but I have so far resisted writing about them.

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Katie Wills AMIEnvSc

Sustainability and Environmental Management Consultant, BMT

Katie Wills is a Sustainability and Environmental Management Consultant at BMT where she has worked since 2022. She has a degree in BSc Environmental Science from the University of Plymouth and is an Associate Member of the Institute of Environmental Sciences. Her work focuses on maritime-orientated environmental impact screening and scoping, environmental management plans, environmental case reports and environmental assessment reports. Katie has also undertaken many legislation and compliance-based projects across the environmental maritime sector.

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