Coveted international award for Dr. Priyath B. Wickrama

Over 350 of the maritime industry's key players united for an evening of celebration and networking recently as the award winners were announced at the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Seatrade Global Awards Ceremony Dinner in the presence of IMO Secretary-General, Koji Sekimizu, Chairman of the panel of judges of the Seatrade Awards in the surroundings of London's Guildhall in the UK.

The members of the maritime community celebrated the outstanding contributions made over the last year for safe, efficient and environmentally-friendly shipping.

Chairman of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Dr. Priyath B. Wickrama won the coveted accolade - Seatrade Young Person in Shipping Award 2013. The award is presented to an individual under 40, who has made an outstanding contribution to the industry. A few days ago, Dr. Wickrama was also elected the third Vice President of the International Association of Ports and Harbors Asia/Oceania region in Los Angeles, USA.

Dr. Wickrama has been the Chairman of the SLPA since 2008, boosting the hub status of Sri Lanka's maritime arena with his innovative ideology and exemplary business mindset. Strengthening his capacity, he is bestowed with a Doctorate in Operations Management by the International University of America in the United Kingdom.

A graduate of the University of Moratuwa with a BSc Honours in Mechanical Engineering, Dr. Wickrama has a broad vicinity of blending his engineering concepts in to the maritime perspective.

Exploiting that capability, he is leading the two mega port development projects carried out in Sri Lanka's history of shipping;the Mahinda Rajapaksa Port development in Hambantota and the Colombo Port Expansion Project to set up a competitive platform in the South Asian region by venturing into new market opportunities.

Dr. Wickrama was recognised as the most Outstanding Young Person in Sri Lanka 2010 by HSBC for Economic Accomplishments. In 2011, he was awarded as the Most Outstanding Citizen by the International Association of Lions Clubs for the renowned leadership demonstrated in the field of outstanding constructions for national development and also received the Young Person of Sea Trade Middle East and Indian Subcontinent Award.

At the Seatrade Global Awards Ceremony 2013, 11 awards were presented to international maritime personalities. The prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Chairman, China Shipping (Group) Company Li Shaode.

A special Seatrade Award for Countering Piracy, which was awarded to Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, UAE was accepted on his behalf by Abdulrahman Al-Mutaiwee, UAE Ambassador to the UK. The IMO 2013 themed award: Sustainable Development - IMO's contribution beyond Rio+20, in support of the IMO's theme for World Maritime Day 2013 was awarded to AP Moller Maersk. The Seatrade Global Performer 2013 Award presented to Saleh N Al-Jasser, CEO, Bahri recognises the recent merger between the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia and Vela. The winner of the Safety at Sea category was ClassNK and the award was collected by Noboru Ueda, Chairman and President of the Japanese classification society.

The winner of the Clean Shipping category was W R Systems Ltd and the honour was received by David Edwards, President and COO of the company. Winner of the Innovation in Ship Operations was Lankhorst Ropes and the award was received by Steven Wardenier, Commercial Director. The winner of the Investment in People award was Maritime Skills Alliance, received by Nigel Palmer, OBE, Chairman of the alliance.