Captain Ian Finley, a Master Mariner, first sailed from the Port of Liverpool, United Kingdom in 1961 as a Midshipman with Alfred Holts, the Blue Funnel Line. In 1966, he transferred to the Athel Line and the fledgling Chemical/Parcel tanker industry rising to the rank of Captain. He came ashore in 1982, to work in ship operations, moving into chartering and thence Senior Management. In 1987, he was a founder member of the International Parcel Tankers Association.
Captain Finley was advisor to the delegation of Panama since the early 1990s and was later appointed Head of Delegation for Panama, stepping down in 2006. He was then engaged to navigate the Cook Islands to membership of IMO (it became a Member State in 2008). Captain Finley was subsequently appointed as the Cook Islands Ambassador and Permanent Representative to IMO, a role he has held with distinction and through which he has championed the cause of the SIDS, promoting enhanced technical cooperation and capacity building and encouraging their engagement in the Organization’s safety and environmental technical committees.
He has been Permanent Representative to the International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO), the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPC) and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
Captain Finley has served as a Governor of the World Maritime University (WMU) since 2016 and was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of WMU in 2023. In 2023, Captain Finley was honoured by the United States Coast Guard as a recipient of their highest public recognition, the Distinguished Public Service Award. He has been selected as the recipient of the prestigious International Maritime Prize for 2023 for his contributions to the objectives and work of IMO.
Captain Ian Finley, a Master Mariner, first sailed from the Port of Liverpool, United Kingdom in 1961 as a Midshipman with Alfred Holts, the Blue Funnel Line. In 1966, he transferred to the Athel Line and the fledgling Chemical/Parcel tanker industry rising to the rank of Captain. He came ashore in 1982, to work in ship operations, moving into chartering and thence Senior Management. In 1987, he was a founder member of the International Parcel Tankers Association.
Captain Finley was advisor to the delegation of Panama since the early 1990s and was later appointed Head of Delegation for Panama, stepping down in 2006. He was then engaged to navigate the Cook Islands to membership of IMO (it became a Member State in 2008). Captain Finley was subsequently appointed as the Cook Islands Ambassador and Permanent Representative to IMO, a role he has held with distinction and through which he has championed the cause of the SIDS, promoting enhanced technical cooperation and capacity building and encouraging their engagement in the Organization’s safety and environmental technical committees.
He has been Permanent Representative to the International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO), the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPC) and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
Captain Finley has served as a Governor of the World Maritime University (WMU) since 2016 and was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of WMU in 2023. In 2023, Captain Finley was honoured by the United States Coast Guard as a recipient of their highest public recognition, the Distinguished Public Service Award. He has been selected as the recipient of the prestigious International Maritime Prize for 2023 for his contributions to the objectives and work of IMO.