Speakers
William Burroughs CMarEng, CEng, FIMarEST
Dr Bulent Mercan
Peter Noble
Altaf Shaik
Panel Discussion
Moderator: Bill Burroughs
William Burroughs is the CEO of Monstrant Viam LLC. He is a Chartered Marine Engineer (CMarEng), Chartered Engineer (CEng) and Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST). William is a member of the IMarEST Ballast Water Experts Group (BWEG) – an IMarEST Special Interest Group (SIG) focused on supporting the marine industry’s ballast water management regulatory and equipment development. He is a 1982 graduate of Auburn University (Alabama) having earned a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering (BChE) and, after serving in the United States Navy Submarine Force for 12 years, worked as an industrial and municipal water and wastewater engineer. Beginning in 2001, he worked as an offshore water treatment equipment engineer including leading a team for the successful development of a shipboard Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) until 2013. He joined the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) in 2014 as their Subject Matter Expert for ballast water management. William is one of the principal authors of the ABS Guide for Ballast Water Exchange, the ABS Guide for Ballast Water Treatment, the ABS Ballast Water Management Advisory, the Best Practices for Operations of Ballast Water Management Systems Report, and numerous thought leadership periodical articles. He is a recognized expert for the implementation of the IMO’s Ballast Water Management Convention and the USCG/U.S. EPA’s ballast water regulations. He is a member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee 8 (Ships and marine technology) Working Group 12 (Aquatic nuisance species). He was a delegate to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) and Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR) sub-committee with the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS). He is a delegate to MEPC with RINA (Royal Institute of Marine Engineers) for MEPC 77 through 81 (March 2024).
Bulent Mercan currently serves as a technical advisor for 2H Offshore in Houston. He has more than ten years of industry experience in the analysis, design, and integrity monitoring of structural systems for offshore oil, gas and renewable assets. His responsibilities include project management, technical sales, and technology development. He holds a PhD in Civil/Structural Engineering from the University of Minnesota and a Professional Engineer Licence in Texas.
Bulent also serves as a part-time senior lecturer at the University of Houston. He has more than eight years of teaching experience at the UH. He teaches undergraduate and graduate level courses in the Civil Engineering Department.
Peter Noble is naval architect and ocean engineer with a wide range of global experience across many sectors within the marine and offshore industries.
He started his career as an apprentice with a Clyde-side shipbuilder, while attending the University of Glasgow studying naval architecture.
His career has included positions with shipyards; ship and offshore design consultants; marine R&D development companies; major classification societies; and with an international oil company. Peter is a past Vice President of IMarEST and past president of SNAME.
Peter currently based in Texas where his work includes advising on a range of subject matter including ocean renewable energy and future marine fuels. He continues to support student and young professional activities in naval architecture and ocean engineering through mentoring, serving on advisory boards and advising on capstone projects.
Altaf is a Marine Engineer with over 15 years of experience. He currently serves as a Principal Engineer in ABS Corporate Technology Department and is responsible for developing requirements for emerging technologies in the maritime industry that includes Onboard Carbon Capture, Kinetic Energy Storage Systems, Liquefied Carbon Dioxide Carriers.
Prior to this role, he was in ABS Engineering department conducting plan reviews for different types of vessels such as LNG carriers, Offshore supply vessels, Yachts, High Speed Crafts and Barges. During this time, he became an SME for Ballast Water Treatment Systems. As part of the USCG Type Approval of BWTS, he worked closely with the Independent laboratories and helped clients get the USCG Type Approval for their systems.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering from Andhra University in India and an MBA degree from Bowling Green State University, Ohio, US. Prior to joining ABS, he spent few years sailing on Tankers.
Alberto Castelli has over 25 years of upstream and midstream global leadership experience. As Eni representative he managed commercial and business development operations for major oil and gas operating companies, in Nigeria, Venezuela and Kazakhstan. He has been involved with Energy Transition initiatives in the USA and, in 2023 He has been seconded by Eni to the Americas Region of the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP).