The maritime industry’ most influential awards honour the past year’s best in shipping LONDON – The winners of the 20th Anniversary Lloyd's List Global Awards have been unveiled at the Lloyd’s List annual gala event. "Congratulations to the exceptional group of awards winners. We are excited to pay tribute and celebrate the best, most innovative companies and individuals in shipping," said Richard Meade, Managing Editor, Lloyd’s List. “The awards programme gives companies across the world the incentive to forge new, innovative paths in the industry for years to come.” Lloyd’s List has bestowed the Lifetime Achievement accolade on some of the shipping industry’s most influential leading lights. The 2017 award was presented to Francis Vallat, president of the European Network of Maritime Clusters. The award recognised Vallat’s lifetime’s dedication to raising the standard of shipping and promoting the case of safety worldwide. As chairman and chief executive of Van Ommeren, Vallat worked tirelessly in national and international associations to call on international authorities to force shipowners to scrap their rust buckets. Vallat also worked within the European Maritime Safety Agency, as well as several other national associations, to promote and enhance safety standards in shipping worldwide. Vallat co-founded the Cluster Maritime Français, gathering more than 400 companies and professional federations, to create the European Network of Maritime Clusters. To date, this has brought together 18 national clusters. He recently took on the new role of president of the French arm of SOS Mediterranée to alleviate the suffering of migrants leaving Libya in leaking boats. “SOS has already saved many hundreds of lives, and it is a great honour for Lloyd’s List to applaud the latest in Francis Vallat’s long list of commitments to the shipping industry,” Meade added. Other winners at the Global Awards included Hapag-Lloyd, which took Deal of the Year for its merger with UASC, and in a challenging market for the container sector it was APL that was named as the Container Operator of the Year. With innovation front and centre in shipping’s future, the China Merchants Port Holdings Innovation Award was one of the most sought-after accolades, going to Denmark’s Evergas, which won the award for its Dragon multigas fleet. Company of the Year was won by Hong Kong-headquartered operator Pacific Basin Shipping. Judges said Pacific Basin experienced excellent achievements during the year, delivering profit, innovative refinancing, a strong balance sheet and a high level of customer satisfaction.  The full list of 2017 Lloyd's List Global Award winners:
  • Safety Award: Drydocks World Dubai
  • The Hutchison Ports Environment Award: Rotterdam World Gateway
  • The China Merchants Port Holdings Innovation Award: Evergas
  • ClassNK Tanker Operator of the Year: PAO Sovcomflot
  • Containership Operator of the Year: APL
  • Port Operator Award: Port of Felixstowe, Hutchison Ports
  • Dry Bulk Operator of the Year: C Transport Maritime
  • Training Award: Magsaysay People Resources Corporation
  • The i-law Maritime Law Award: Stephenson Harwood
  • The Insurance Day Maritime Insurance Award: North
  • Deal of the Year: Hapag-Lloyd
  • The Next Generation Shipping Award: Dorothea Ioannou, American P&I Club
  • Company of the Year: Pacific Basin Shipping
  • Seafarer of the Year: Master Fredrik Krysén and the crew of mv Undine
  • Lifetime Achievement Award: Francis Vallat, President of the European Network of Maritime Clusters
The Lloyd’s List Global Awards were independently judged by a group of esteemed industry experts from around the world.