New head for Med. sea pollution centre

The International Maritime Organisation has appointed Frédéric M.J. Hébert of France as director of the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC) with effect from this month.

Rempec, formerly known as the Regional Oil Combating Centre, is an intergovernmental UN regional centre administered by the International Maritime Organisation.

The centre, established in Malta in 1976, was created to facilitate the implementation of the Emergency Protocol to the Barcelona Convention, which was subsequently replaced by the Prevention and Emergency Protocol of 2002. Mr Hébert is a graduate in law and politics.

He joined the French Navy Supply Corps where he served up to the rank of commander, first on board several battle ships then in the staff of the admiral, Préfet Maritime de la Méditerranée, Rempec's local focal point, where he was in charge of pollution response and preparedness.

He then joined the Ministry of Finance, where he headed the Office of International Law at the Ministry's legal department. In that position, he dealt with major recent maritime incidents such as those involving the Erika, Ievolisun and Prestige.