Norton Rose Fulbright global head of transport appointed chair of Maritime UK

Harry Theochari, global head of transport at Norton Rose Fulbright, has been appointed chair of Maritime UK. He will take on this role on December 1, 2018, in addition to his work at the global law firm.

Maritime UK (MUK) brings together the UK’s shipping, ports, services, engineering and leisure marine industries – a sector that supports just over one million jobs and contributes around £40bn to UK GDP. The industry body aims to drive growth by promoting the sector, influencing government and fostering collaboration in key areas such as innovation.

Commenting on his appointment, which was announced at a reception this week by Maritime UK patron HRH The Princess Royal, Harry Theochari said:

“I am very honoured to be taking the Chair of Maritime UK and being given the opportunity to serve the UK’s maritime industries, with which I have worked for the past 33 years. Never, throughout my career as a shipping lawyer, have I seen so many issues converge on the maritime industries – both at sea and ashore – at the same time. There are many immediate challenges that MUK must tackle for the good of our sector – these include a lack of funding, environmental issues, the advent of disruptive technologies, and the issues surrounding Brexit. These will require a lot of hard work, resilience and innovative thinking to ensure the sector makes the most of emerging opportunities.

“The maritime industries of the United Kingdom have a long and proud history, and I am very confident that by pulling together and working effectively with Government, the sector will emerge from these challenging times – including the longest and most difficult recession the sector has faced in living memory – in a much more confident and stronger position. I will certainly do all that I can to ensure that the UK’s world-leading position in the maritime sector is maintained and, where possible, enhanced.”

Theochari is global head of transport at law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, and will continue to practice as a lawyer in addition to his Maritime UK role. He has been named by Lloyd's List as the most influential shipping lawyer in the world, has been recognised by Tanker Shipping & Trade as one of the 50 most influential people in the tanker industry and is cited by Chambers Global 2018 as a leading individual for shipping finance. He is currently the Vice Chairman of Maritime London and was recently appointed a Visiting Professor by Tongji Shanghai University and sits on their Expert Committee and Institute for Urban Risk Management.

For further information please contact:

Gemma Perks, Senior PR Manager
Tel: +44 (0)20 7444 3104; Mob: +44 (0)7711 191230
gemma.perks@nortonrosefulbright.com

Notes for editors:

Norton Rose Fulbright

Norton Rose Fulbright is a global law firm providing the world’s preeminent corporations and financial institutions with a full business law service. The firm has more than 4,000 lawyers and other legal staff based in Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, Africa and the Middle East.

Recognized for its industry focus, Norton Rose Fulbright is strong across all the key industry sectors: financial institutions; energy; infrastructure, mining and commodities; transport; technology and innovation; and life sciences and healthcare. Through its global risk advisory group, the firm leverages its industry experience with its knowledge of legal, regulatory, compliance and governance issues to provide clients with practical solutions to the legal and regulatory risks facing their businesses.

Norton Rose Fulbright operates in accordance with its global business principles of quality, unity and integrity, aiming to provide the highest possible standard of legal service in each of its offices and to maintain that level of quality at every point of contact.

Norton Rose Fulbright Verein, a Swiss verein, helps coordinate the activities of Norton Rose Fulbright members but does not itself provide legal services to clients. Norton Rose Fulbright has offices in more than 50 cities worldwide, including London, Houston, New York, Toronto, Mexico City, Hong Kong, Sydney and Johannesburg. For more information, see nortonrosefulbright.com/legal-notices.