Maritime & Coastguard Agency Appoints Chapman SOSRep
The Maritime & Coastguard Agency has made a new appointment to the role of Secretary of State’s Representative (SOSRep) Maritime Salvage & Intervention, which oversees the response to accidents at sea. Les Chapman has been appointed to the role and will join the Agency on Monday 21 August. He will work alongside the existing SOSRep Hugh Shaw OBE for several months, to allow a substantial transition period in this important role, and will not assume the role and responsibilities of the SOSRep until an agreed time later on in the year.
The SOSRep is responsible for reducing the risk to safety and the environment arising from accidents at sea. Chapman graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada and served in both the UK’s Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy – as part of the former, he qualified for nuclear submarine command and held four command appointments. Over the course of a career spanning the maritime, security and transportation industries, Les has also worked with a number of commercial maritime organizations including Associated British Ports Ltd, DNV and The Maritime Group. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology, the Institute of Civil Protection and Emergency Management and the Nautical Institute, a Liveryman of the Honorable Company of Master Mariners, The Worshipful Company of Arbitrators, The Worshipful Company of Shipwrights and a Younger Brother of Trinity House.
