Bas De Jong is Salvage master / Maritime Salvage /Safety & Marine Fire-Fighting Specialist at Marine Masters.

Among his tasks, include managing the emergency response plan and liaise with stakeholders throughout the situation.

Salvage master Bas, is the primary point of contact for ports, local government, local contractors, and ship owners to ensure high safety standards for example, during transhipment from tanker vessels to the shore-based loading facility.

I am Global Head of Loss Prevention at NorthStandard. As part of my role, I will work to ensure close collaboration between the Loss Prevention function and the geographical and specialty sectors to better enable the business to achieve its goals by using the technical, operational and safety expertise of the Loss Prevention team to enhance risk selection capabilities and help reduce claims numbers and costs.

Externally the role of the Loss Prevention function will be working to build trust with our members and clients so that we can better assist them to trade successfully and safely in an increasingly complex operating environment.

The Loss Prevention team need the support of lots of different parts of the business to deliver our service and I’m looking forward to working with you all in our new organisation. As we look to the challenges of tomorrow I believe that the Loss Prevention function must make increasing use of data and technology to deliver a cost effective service to our members, clients and colleagues. But of course we can’t forget the realities of today. Shipping is, and will continue to be, a people business, building relationships is key to our success.”

Associate Professor Frank Stevens obtained his Law Degree from the University of Leuven (Belgium) in 1991.  He also holds an LL.M. in Admiralty from Tulane University (1992), a "Special Degree in Maritime Sciences" from the University of Antwerp (1993) and a Doctorate in Law from the University of Ghent (2017). He is Associate Professor of maritime and commercial law at Erasmus School of Law.

Frank Stevens joined the Antwerp Bar in 1993, and has been practising transport and maritime law since then. Since 2016, he is an Associate Professor at the Erasmus School of Law in Rotterdam, and of counsel to a maritime law firm.

He is the author of textbooks on Carriage of Goods by Sea and on Limitation of Liability, and regularly publishes and speaks on issues of transport and maritime law.  He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal for International Trade and Transport Law ('Tijdschrift voor Internationale Handel en Transport') and is on the Board of Editors of two other legal journals.  He is a member of the Belgian Maritime Law Association, and has served as its President from 2015 till 2019.

Captain Henk Smith is the Co-Founder of Marine Masters, an independent company providing expert services for the salvage, maritime and offshore energy sectors headquartered in The Netherlands. He has over 25 years of experience in chemical tankers, salvage and offshore experience in a wide range of projects involving all aspects of salvage and offshore construction. 
 
A salvage expert himself, Henk is actively involved in day-to-day operations at Marine Masters and brings a depth of technical knowledge to the team’s leadership. His career has seen him consult for offshore heavy lifts, towage and transportations, with specific vessel experience in anchor handling, ocean going (salvage) tugs and supply vessels. 
 
Prior to establishing Marine Masters, Henk gathered hands-on industry experience as a salvage master, project manager, operations manager and regional managing director at Smit Lamnalco alongside consultancy roles in the salvage and oil and gas sectors.

Kirsten holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa and an LLM in International Maritime Law from Swansea University. She joined MFB as a trainee solicitor in 2019 and, having completed the Graduate Diploma in Law and the Legal Practice Course, was admitted as a solicitor in England in May 2021.

Major cases on which she has worked include the APL Austria, the Front Altair (a tanker that suffered an explosion while transiting the Strait of Hormuz), the successful Supreme Court case of Enka v Chubb (dealing with international arbitration), the ONE Apus (which involved the largest ever loss of containers overboard) and the Ever Given blockage of the Suez Canal. Kirsten’s experience particularly suits her to handling the multi-jurisdictional nature of many shipping-related disputes.

Marcel assists shipowners, shipoperators and managers, P&I Clubs, H&M and FD&D underwriters, as well as port companies such as tug companies, freight forwarders, ships agents stevedores, container lease companies, bunker suppliers and their underwriters . His practice includes assisting companies in the offshore business. His work includes arrest work, personal injury claims, shipbuilding contracts and disputes, collision, salvage, and claims in general.

Marcel was admitted to the Rotterdam bar in 1992. In 2002 he founded Jumelet Verhagen Advocaten, together with Ton Jumelet.

I am Director of Claims at Dutch P&I Services where we offer a professional claims service to all our clients as part of our total service package. In addition, we can provide claims services on an ad hoc consultancy basis for non-registered clients.

In the event of a claim, one phone call is all it takes to get us involved. We provide immediate assistance 24 hours a day. On site if necessary.

A claim disrupts the natural course of your business and should be resolved as quickly as possible. We employ over 15 dedicated claims professionals in our offices in the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark. As one of the leading correspondents in the world, our network of claims handlers is second to none.

Officier van Dienst Divisie Havenmeester Rotterdam / Coast Guard Liaison Officer (Kustwacht / MIRG.nl)

Stuart, a Master Mariner, joined Thomas Miller’s Loss Prevention department in 2014. Prior to this he worked as casualty investigator for a leading shipping law firm and was at sea on a variety of different ship types including crude oil tankers, freight ferries, passenger ships and offshore drilling units, where he sailed as Barge Master.

I am Broking Director at Dutch P&I. As one of the world’s leading independent P&I brokers, we arrange P&I insurance for a number of leading shipping companies. Our strong position with the vast majority of P&I Clubs and insurers enables us to provide you with the expertise, flexibility and competitiveness you need in today’s environment. Our unique combination of insurance specialist and shipping industry professional enables us to act as an extension of your business. Through free in-depth training, charterparty reviews and insurance consultancy, we have much to offer you.