John Lillie has succeeded Captain Chris Spencer as president of the Society of Consulting Marine Engineers and Ship Surveyors.
The society says that the age demography of members reflects the poor performance of the British shipping industry in the 1970s and 1980s. However, now the future looks encouraging as the industry rebounds and men and women obtain professional qualifications and, more importantly, experience in their profession.
Lillie, a fellow of IMarEST, will be an invited speaker at the important September annual conference of the International Union of Marine Insurance in Copenhagen.
On May 1 he launched his own consultancy – JSL Marine Associates Ltd. – which, with partners and colleagues in many parts of the world, is already actively providing a menu of services to shipowners, shipyards, insurers and P&I clubs.
His casualty surveying experience included 12 years in overseas offices of the SA, the last three based in New York as regional manager for the Americas.
Trained as a marine engineer, Lillie served on a variety of steam and motor vessels with Hunting and Son before moving to Texaco Overseas Tankship. He then joined Denholm Ship Management and sailed as chief engineer on tankers and OBOs before coming ashore as a fleet superintendent.