Highly experienced claims specialist Jose Maura has been elected as the new director of the International Oil Pollution Compensation (IOPC) Funds.
Maura (50) has been with the IOPC Funds for 15 years and played a key role in many tanker spills including the Aegean Sea, Sea Empress, Nissos Amorgos, Erika, Prestige and Hebei Spirit.
Maura (50) was nominated by Spain to be the next head of the IOPC Funds.
He has been acting director since the former Dutch director, Willem Oosterveen, became seriously ill more than a year ago subsequently indicating he would be unable to continue as director.
Maura was elected director for a term of five years of the IOPC Funds – an international intergovernmental organisation that under the tanker spill conventions has the legal right to levy receivers of crude or heavy fuel oil following sea transport to help fund clean-up and compensation.
The IOPC Funds have also been playing a key role in establishing the compensation machinery for the hazardous and noxious substances convention which has not yet entered into force.
Competition to head the IOPC Funds was a two horse race with France proposing Frederic Hebert, head of the Malta based Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (Rempec) be the new director.
The French civil servant and lawyer is a former naval officer who has represented France at organisations such as IMO and UNCTAD and OECD
