Mr Daniel Trevelyn Joseph, Director-General of Shipping, Directorate General of Shipping, Ministry of Surface Transport, India, will be visiting Singapore under the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore's (MPA) Distinguished Visitors Programme (DVP) from 14 to 15 September 2000.

Mr Joseph was appointed Director-General of Shipping in 1999. The Directorate General of Shipping is a statutory authority appointed under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958. The Directorate oversees the implementation of international conventions on safety requirements for the prevention of oil pollution and other mandatory requirements of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). As a member state of the IMO since 1959, the Directorate also participates actively in its major international conferences. Prior to his current appointment, Mr Joseph had served in various posts in the Indian civil service, including Chief Executive Officer of Slum Rehabilitation Authority. He holds two Master of Arts degrees in Economics (Development Studies) from the Manchester University, UK and in English Literature from Mandras University, India.

During the 2-day programme, Mr Joseph will be meeting Dr John Chen, Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology; Mr Peter Ho, Chairman, MPA; Mr Chen Tze Penn, Director-General, MPA; and other MPA senior officials. He will also be giving a talk on "India's Maritime Training Policies & Programmes" on 15 September at the Singapore Polytechnic which is jointly organised by the MPA and the Singapore Maritime Academy.

Other programme highlights include a tour of the MPA's new Port Operations Control Centre (POCC2) to view our state-of-the-art Vessel Traffic Information System (VTIS), a demonstration of the Singapore Electronic Navigational Chart (ENC) and Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) onboard the MPA's latest hydrographic vessel, the Mata Ikan, and a port visit.

Mr Joseph is the fourth dignitary to visit Singapore under the MPA DVP this year. The MPA had earlier hosted visits from Mr Bram Westerduin, Director-General for Freight Transport of the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, and Mr Brian Wadsworth, Director of Logistics and Maritime Transport of the UK Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, Dr George Mbanefo Eneh, Director-General of the National Maritime Authority, Nigeria, in January, March and August 2000 respectively.

The MPA DVP was established in 1997 as a channel for the MPA to meet and develop long-term working relationships with key personalities from the international maritime community. The Programme has proved to be an effective platform for exchanging views on international maritime issues and enhancing Singapore's bilateral maritime relations.

End of Release.