Last year, at the age of 70, Francis Vallat took on a new role: president of the French arm of SOS Mediterranée. This organisation was founded in 2015 by a group of Europeans who were determined to do what they could to alleviate the suffering of migrants leaving Libya in leaking boats. SOS Mediterranée has already saved many hundreds of lives, and it is a great honour for Lloyd’s List to applaud the latest in Francis’ long list of commitments to the shipping industry.
A graduate of the Institut d’Etudes politiques in Paris, rounded off with degrees in law and literature, Francis worked with the Dutch company Van Ommeren for 27 years, rising to become chairman and chief executive of Van Ommeren Tankers and chairman of Van Ommeren Transport. It was during this time that he joined the board of the Armateurs de France, the French shipowners’ association, calling on international authorities to force ship owners to scrap their rustbuckets.
Francis has spent his career fighting to raise the standard of shipping and improving safety at sea, so it will have been no surprise when he accepted an invitation to represent France on the European Maritime Safety Agency, which he did from 2002 to 2012. He was chairman of EMSA in 2005 and was vice-chairman of the board from 2002 to 2008.
In his spare time, in 2005 he co-founded the Cluster Maritime Français, gathering under his wing as chairman more than 400 companies and professional federations, and followed this with helped to set up the European Network of Maritime Clusters. This has so far brought together 18 national clusters, and was chaired until 2015 by… Francis Vallat.
As a member of the French Académie de Marine and a (reserve) Navy Captain, Francis’ contribution to maritime safety, quality, and professionalism is unmatched across Europe. We wish him every success in his new venture with SOS Mediterranée, and thank him for accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2017 Lloyd’s List Global Awards.
