The International Foundation for Aids to Navigation (IFAN) has a new chairman, former BP Shipping head Guy Mason.
He was appointed at a board meeting in Bahrain, replacing Alan Marsh, former CEO of London broker Braemar, who steps down after three years as chairman of the UK charity.
Mason joined the IFAN board in March this year, having retired from BP at the end of 2020 as senior vice president and global head of shipping.
He is already a director at the shipping intelligence service Windward and Lithuanian oil company Klaipedos Nafta.
Mason, who spent nearly five years at BP Shipping, thanked Marsh for his service to IFAN and for his willingness to remain on the board.
He praised Marsh’s continued support in encouraging shipowners to pay Middle East Navigation Aids Service (MENAS) navigational light dues to maintain safer routes for vessels and crew.
“Alan Marsh has been an exemplary chairman, so I look forward to following in his footsteps and continuing IFAN’s good work to make oceans safer while trying to hold shipowners accountable for the safety of their vessels and crews on board,” Mason said.
Peter Stanley, IFAN’s chief executive, said he is delighted Marsh is staying as a director.
A list of priorities
“We’re equally pleased to welcome Guy Mason into his new role and look forward to forging ahead in our support of projects to bring safety to the forefront in our role of maintaining aids to navigation for safer oceans for all,” he added.
Mason has identified a number of issues on his immediate list of priorities, including seeking out “really great” projects that IFAN can support financially.
He wants these to make a difference in boosting standards of navigational safety at sea, as well as supporting the safe navigation service that MENAS provides to shipowners and operators in the Middle East Gulf.
“The vast majority of the shipowners and operators happily pay for this important service, where the income we receive pretty much closely matches the cost of maintaining the infrastructure both of the buoys and the DGPS [Differential Global Positioning System],” Mason said.
Stanley has previously warned non-paying shipowners that they are jeopardising safe passage in the Middle East as infrastructure ages.
The non-profit organisation has been ensuring vessel safety in the region since 1911, as the coastal states there have still to take on ownership of navigational assets in these international waters.
