Joseph Angelo Awarded Global Maritime Prize

The prestigious International Maritime Prize for 2018 has been presented to Joseph J. Angelo, a former United States Coast Guard (USCG) and International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (INTERTANKO) senior executive who participated in International Maritime Organization (IMO) meetings for many years, providing leadership on a number of key regulatory developments.

IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim presented the prize on Monday (25 November) at the annual IMO Awards ceremony. Lim outlined Angelo's long commitment to IMO and his reputation as a technical expert, diplomat and problem solver - who earned the nickname, "IMO‑Joe".  

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council decided in July to award the Prize to  Angelo in recognition of his invaluable contribution to the work and objectives of IMO and to the international maritime community as a whole.

Accepting the prize, Angelo thanked the United States and INTERTANKO for nominating him, and the IMO Council for selecting him for the "tremendous honor".

"It has been my distinct privilege to work side-by-side with many exceptional delegates from around the world over the past 39 years – all coming together to create solutions which have resulted in crucial improvements to maritime safety, security and protection of the marine environment. I am proud to have been a part of the progress we made together," he said.

Angelo was nominated by the Government of the United States and INTERTANKO. In their nominations, they highlighted Angelo's constructive and collaborative work with all stakeholders to achieve outcomes.

Angelo was active in a number of IMO bodies, most notably the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) and the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC). He first attended the MEPC's thirteenth session in 1980 and attended every session since, up to and including MEPC 73 in 2018.

The United States Government said Angelo was known as "IMO Joe", in recognition of the respect held by all for the knowledge, skill and cooperation he freely offered. He respected the Organization and believed in its enduring mission, recognizing that the success of IMO rested not on the accomplishments of a few, but on the accomplishments of everyone.


Mr. Angelo graduated from the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point in 1971. After a short stint in the U.S. Navy, he joined the U.S. Coast Guard as a civilian in 1977, rising to become a member of the Senior Executive Service in 1992. He retired from the USCG in 2005 and joined INTERTANKO to manage their Americas operation, becoming Acting and later Deputy Managing Director, while being responsible for INTERTANKO's engagement at IMO.

He was Head of the U.S. delegation to MEPC from 1993 to 2004. From 2005 to 2019, he attended MEPC as Head of the INTERTANKO delegation. He chaired numerous important working groups.

Angelo was also active in the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), first attending in 1982 (MSC 49), leading the U.S. delegation in the Working Group on Harmonized System for Survey and Certification. In 2003, Mr. Angelo chaired MSC 77 - which agreed to develop goal-based ship new construction standards, a key safety initiative.