Captain Ian Finley receives IMO International Maritime Prize

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.