Simon Barham has been appointed as the first U.K. Ship Register Director at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, scheduled to start his role in February 2016.
Barham brings to the position both commercial and technical experience from his 40 year career in the industry. He initially served at sea for 16 years and since then has held senior positions ashore within both ship owning and ship management companies across the world. Previous roles include chief operations officer at Bibby Ship Management, managing director of Reederei Nord Ltd, chief executive officer of Gulf Navigation PJSC and managing director of Stena Bulk U.K. During this time, he has also served on the boards of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber and Tankers International.
Sir Alan Massey, chief executive officer of the Maritime & Coastguard Agency said, “We are a world-class maritime center and proud of it. We want to build and grow a U.K. Ship Register that reflects that tradition and meets the needs of the modern, global shipping industry”
Massey added, “Simon will be primarily focused on attracting owners of quality ships to sign up to the U.K. Flag and working to secure the long-term commercial success of the U.K. Ship Register.”