Who works in global regulations?

How did you get started in shipping?

My very first job in shipping was during university, working as a bar tender on a party boat in Rotterdam, a fun job! My first professional job was as policy advisor for sustainability and safety in the European Seaports Organization (ESPO). I’ve been in my current role at the IMO since February 2020.

What does your current job involve?

My team is mostly focused on supporting the regulatory discussions on the reduction of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) and Intersessional Working Group on reduction of Greenhouse Gas emissions (ISWG-GHG). We revise all meetings documents submitted by Member States and observer organisations; prepare meeting briefs for the Chair; the meeting reports; but also assist member States in identifying possible consensus solutions. Besides that I also support countries with the ratification and implementation of MARPOL Annex VI provisions through projects and in-country support. My team is also responsible for tasks such as the analysis of the annual fuel consumption reported by ships and monitoring their energy efficiency, and the IMO GHG studies.

I also regularly represent IMO at international UN conferences, such as the climate COPS. Last year’s adoption of the 2023 IMO Greenhouse Gas Strategy setting out a net-zero target was definitely a high that we collectively worked on very hard and which changed the course of shipping.

What do you like about your job? 

The diversity. On the same day I can look into the importance of shipping for ensuring food security; how to reduce the impacts of shipping on the melting of Arctic ice from Black Carbon emissions, the effectiveness of catalyst NOx reduction efficiency, or how we can promote  the availability and use of renewable fuels such as hydrogen, ammonia and methanol to reduce the climate impacts of shipping.

On any given day, I may meet with Ministers or even Heads of States, and the same day also meet with seafarers or university students. The diversity of people I deal with on a daily basis makes a difference, and it’s those people that also remind you of the importance of shipping in everyone’s life and for the global economy. 

What does a typical day look like? 

I get up at 6.30-7am, and I can’t leave the house without having had even just a small moment to enjoy two cups of coffee and to read the morning papers. My office is in central London, on the embankments of the Thames, and I am blessed to be able to cycle to work in about 20 minutes like a true Dutch person. It’s a great way to start the day.

A normal day includes overseeing and coordinating the team’s workload; carry out relevant meeting-related tasks; or preparing for travel or conferences.

Travel adds important perspectives to my day-to-day work. For instance, last year I visited both Singapore, Barbados and Antigua, all islands states, but that’s where the similarities end. In the Caribbean, I witnessed on the ground what the impact can be on small islands economies when ships change or reduce their routes and port calls or when their only port is out of operation because of a hurricane.  When working on globally applicable regulations, it is important to have a good understanding of the very different circumstances between countries.

I will often have lunch in the IMO canteen, but I try to go at least once a week for a 10k run along the river to Battersea Park. 

I usually finish work around 6.30-7pm, except when we have a meeting week (MEPC, ISWG-GHG). During those weeks we work around the clock to make the most out of having all delegates in London and getting as much progress as possible. 

What advice would you give to someone starting off in this industry?

Embrace change. Whether it is within your current position or by changing position, change keeps us curious and creative.

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