Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) officer, Tan Hanqiang, currently First Secretary (Maritime), High Commission of the Republic of Singapore to the United Kingdom (UK), has been appointed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as Vice-Chair of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) with effective December 16, 2022. Tan succeeds Harry Conway (Liberia).
This marks the first time a Singaporean has assumed the Vice-Chair appointment for the IMO MEPC in more than 20 years. Previously, an MPA Officer, Mr Zafrul Alam, served as Vice-Chair for IMO MEPC from 1999 to 2000.