H.E. Captain Ian Finley, Permanent Representative of the Cook Islands, has been presented with the prestigious International Maritime Prize for 2023. Captain Finley was honoured at the annual IMO Awards Ceremony, held in London on 2 December 2024. The ceremony followed the first day of the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 109) session, which is taking place from 2 to 6 December 2024.

Captain Finley was nominated for the Prize by the Government of the Cook Islands. As a delegate to IMO, representing Panama and latterly the Cook Islands, he has been an active participant in the development of virtually all safety, environmental and legal legislation adopted by the Organization since 1995.

Before handing Captain Finley the silver dolphin trophy, IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez highlighted Captain Finley’s long association with IMO and contribution to developing and negotiating IMO instruments.

“His passion for the maritime community and his unwavering dedication to advancing its goals have made him an invaluable presence. There have been few IMO meetings in the past three decades which have not benefitted from his insight and wisdom,” Secretary-General Dominguez said.

Accepting the Prize, Captain Finley said, “I am truly grateful, yet I see this Prize as a recognition of the work and commitment of so many who I have worked with over the past three decades.”

He reflected on his 63 years in ships and shipping: “From the river of my birth to the lands where corals lie, all gone in what seems just a turn of the tide; Triumph and tragedy, despair and elation, endings but always new horizons; regrets, none to dwell on, what an Odyssey, what a life!”

In its statement supporting his nomination for the Prize, the Government of the Cook Islands cited Captain Finley’s longstanding work as a delegate to IMO for more than three decades. He is “a stalwart of Diplomatic Conferences, always striving for consensus and, when necessary, helping to facilitate the compromises required”. He is an ex-mariner with “an understanding of and empathy for the challenges that continue to be faced by seafarers and the obligations of all to ensure their training, safety and wellbeing”. He has “championed the cause of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS), promoting enhanced technical cooperation and capacity building”.

The event also honoured exceptional bravery at sea.

Captain Ian Finley  

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.

International Maritime Prize 

The International Maritime Prize is awarded annually by IMO to the individual or organization judged to have made a significant contribution to the work and objectives of the Organization. The Prize is marked by the presentation to the winner of a dolphin sculpture and includes a financial award, upon submission of an academic paper written on a subject relevant to IMO.

• See photos from the 2024 IMO Awards ceremony
• Read about previous winners of the International Maritime Prize.