The International Maritime Prize for 2018 will be awarded to Mr. Joseph J. Angelo, a former US Coast Guard and Intertanko senior executive who took part in IMO meetings for many years, providing leadership on various key regulatory developments.
The IMO Council, meeting for its 122nd session in London, from 15 to 19 July, decided to give the Prize to Mr. Angelo, recognizing his valuable contribution to the work and objectives of IMO and to the international maritime community as a whole.
In their nominations, the Government of the US and Intertanko highlighted Mr. Angelo’s constructive and collaborative work with all stakeholders to achieve results. Mr. Angelo was active in a number of IMO bodies, most notably the MSC and the MEPC. He first attended the MEPC’s 13th session in 1980 and attended every session since, up to and including MEPC 73 in 2018.
The US stated said Mr. Angelo was known as ‘IMO Joe’, in recognition of the respect held by all for the knowledge, skill and cooperation he 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
IMO said.
Joseph J. Angelo graduated from the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point in 1971. After a short stint in the US Navy, he joined the US Coast Guard as a civilian in 1977, rising to become a member of the Senior Executive Service in 1992.
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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 US delegation to MEPC from 1993 to 2004. From 2005 to 2019, he attended MEPC as Head of the Intertanko delegation. He chaired several important working groups.
Mr. 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.
A number of other IMO fora saw Mr. Angelo lead the US delegation, including the Bulk Cargoes (BC) Sub-Committee, which he chaired for a number of sessions. He was also Alternate or Head of the US delegation for a number of IMO conferences, including those adopting:
- The 1988 SOLAS and Load Lines protocols;
- The 1993 Torremolinos Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels;
- The 1995 amendments to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers ( STCW);
- The 1997 Protocol to the MARPOL Convention, the addition of Annex VI on prevention of air pollution from ships;
- The 2001 International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems on Ships;
- The 2002 SOLAS maritime security amendments, the addition of new SOLAS chapter XI-2 and the mandatory International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code;
- The 2004 International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments.
As a US delegate, Mr. Angelo also provided leadership on other important issues, including the adoption of the mandatory reporting system to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale; the Approved Continuous Examination Programme (ACEP) for containers under the International Convention for Safe Containers; the specifications for the design, operation and control of crude oil washing systems; and the Code of good practice and key elements of Y2K contingency plans for ships.
Upon retiring from the USCG, Mr. Angelo joined Intertanko as Director of Regulatory Affairs, coordinating the association’s work at IMO until his retirement in 2018. For Intertanko, Mr. Angelo was renowned for driving the development of regulatory solutions acceptable and beneficial to IMO as the key UN body for shipping, its key committees and its Member States as stakeholders in international shipping.
The International Maritime Prize is awarded every year by IMO to the individual or organization judged to have made the most significant contribution to the work and objectives of the Organization. It consists of a sculpture in the form of a dolphin and includes a financial award, upon submission of an academic paper written on a subject relevant to IMO.
The Prize will be presented to Mr. Angelo during the annual IMO Awards ceremony, which this year will be held on 25 November 2019, on the evening of the first day of the IMO Assembly’s 31st session.