Singapore’s Tan tapped as Vice-Chair of IMO MEPC

Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) officer, Tan Hanqiang, currently First Secretary (Maritime), High Commission of the Republic of Singapore to the United Kingdom (UK), has been appointed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as Vice-Chair of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) with effective December 16, 2022. Tan succeeds Harry Conway (Liberia).

This marks the first time a Singaporean has assumed the Vice-Chair appointment for the IMO MEPC since its inception in 1985. Previously, MPA’s Assistant Chief Executive (Operations), Captain M Segar, served as the Vice-Chair of IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee from 2012 to 2015. As one of the five main Committees at the IMO, the MEPC addresses environmental issues under the IMO’s remit including the decarbonisation of the global maritime sector, control and prevention of ship-sourced pollution such as air pollutants, as well as matters such as ballast water management and pollution preparedness and response. Tan has been Singapore’s Liaison Officer to the IMO since 2019.