WISTA President Bags UK’s OBE Award For Promoting Diversity In Maritime Industry
The president of the Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association UK (WISTA UK), Monica Kohli, is now an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to promoting diversity in the maritime industry.
An OBE is the largest order of chivalry in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1917 by King George V to recognise military and civilian service during wartime. Today it is given to people who have made significant contributions at a local level or whose work has gained national recognition.
Other OBE recipients include: Dr Christopher Martin, for services to the maritime and port sector; Dr Mohamed Raouf Abdul Karim Al Kattan, founder of Safinah Ltd, and member of the board of directors for I-Tech AB, for services to marine engineering; and David Louis Mearns for services to the location and recovery of historic shipwrecks.
New Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) include: Katy Ware, a former Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) director, for services to maritime safety and technology; Benjamin Simpson, chief executive and founder at Sea-Kit International, for services to the maritime industry.
Several members of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) were also awarded MBEs for their services to maritime safety and to the community including: Kenneth Gee, crew member at Kirkwall Lifeboat Station; Patrick McLaughlin, coxswain, Red Bay Lifeboat Station and RNLI trustee; and David Haines, lifeboat operations manager, Looe Lifeboat Station.
Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM) include the head of a seafarers’ charity and various volunteers for sea cadets. John Wilson, Liverpool Seafarers Centre, was awarded a BEM for services to seafarers’ welfare; Gail Cramp, chair Sunbury and Walton Unit, Sea Cadets, for voluntary service to young people; Roy Heppenstall, president, Newton-le-Willows Unit, Sea Cadets, for voluntary service to young people and to veterans; Stuart McCourt, commanding officer, Whitehaven Unit, Sea Cadets, for voluntary service to young people and to the environment.