Commander Enrique Vargas is a graduated naval officer from the Chilean Naval Academy. He holds a bachelor’s degree in marine science as a Maritime Administration Engineer from the Chilean Naval Polytechnic Academy and multiple studies related to environmental protection and climate change, including a master’s degree in Maritime Affairs with specialization in Maritime Safety and Environmental Protection, from the World Maritime University in Malmö, Sweden (2006).

During his professional career he has served at different positions in the Maritime Authority related to maritime safety and environmental protection fields, being for 10 years head of the Marine Environmental Protection and Marine Pollution Service as well as the Climate Change Office, responsible for developing national environmental protection regulations and policies, and implementing international standards in the role of the Maritime Administration.

During the last 12 years, he has been an active representative in several multilateral environmental agreements, including the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum (APEC). Having been linked with the London Convention and Protocol since 2012, he acted as Vice-Chair and then, Chair of the Scientific Groups for LC/LP meetings for the term 2020-2023. He has also joined as a consultant and expert to various technical cooperation programs in the Latin American, Caribbean and APEC region.

Currently he is the head of the IMO Audit Division at Directemar, responsible for arrangements to the IMO Member State Audit Scheme in Chile. Recently, he has been nominated as IMO Auditor for IMSAS.