An expert in maritime law and policy has been appointed as the new Administrator of the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) announced on Tuesday, May 28.
Maximo Mejia, Jr. took his oath of office before DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya on Monday, May 27 to formally assume leadership of the agency tasked with the modernization of the country’s merchant fleet and the regulation of its shipping industry.
“I have tasked Professor Mejia to bring MARINA up to par with international standards in all aspects of the Philippine maritime sector,” Abaya said. “His credentials and mastery of the industry give me full faith in his ability to do just that.”
“At the same time, I wish to thank Atty. Nic Conti for his steady stewardship of MARINA as Officer-in-Charge,” added Abaya. Conti acted as OIC of MARINA after former Administrator Emerson Lorenzo resigned.
Mejia spent 15 years teaching graduate studies at the World Maritime University (WMU) in Malmö, Sweden. From 1998 to 2013, Mejia taught post-graduate studies in maritime transport safety, security, and environmental protection at WMU, where he was also Head of Maritime Law and Policy.
Mejia is a member of the Philippine Military Academy class 1988. He served in the Philippine Coast Guard and the Philippine Navy in various capacities from 1988 up to 1998, when he was seconded to the Office of the President to act as Deputy Executive Director for the Secretariat of the Multi-Sectoral Task Force on Maritime Development.
Mejia also has extensive academic achievements in the field of maritime studies. He graduated with merit from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland in 1988. Afterwards, he went on to earn a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy degree from Tufts University in Massachusetts, USA in 1990. He then obtained his Master of Science in Maritime Safety Administration degree from WMU in 1994.
In 2005, Mejia was awarded the qualification of Licentiate of Engineering from Lund University in Sweden. The same University conferred upon him a PhD degree in Law and Ergonomics in Maritime Security in 2008.
