International trade and maritime law specialist Susan Hawker has been appointed as the Maritime Volunteer Service’s new chair.
BRINGING more than 30 years of expertise to the role, Susan, from Greenwich, took over at the charity’s AGM on November 15. She has combined a distinguished academic career with consultancy, training, and mediation work around the global shipping industry.
The Maritime Volunteer Service is a recognised national maritime training organisation and a UK registered charity with more than 25 units around the country.
A non-practising barrister, Susan holds a master’s degree in law from the London School of Economics and is a Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution-accredited mediator.
Her professional background spans both academic leadership and hands-on industry training, including senior teaching positions at the University of Notre Dame (London Law Centre), Solent University’s Warsash Maritime School, and HST Akademie in Hamburg. She also lectures for the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers in London and Athens and the Frederick University in Cyprus.
Alongside her academic work, Susan has extensive consultancy experience with shipping companies and insurers, particularly in protection and indemnity insurance, marine claims, and contract law. She is also a member of the Advisory Board of Vespka AS, a marine claims consultancy based in Oslo.
As chair of the MVS, Susan hopes to bring a dynamic and forward-looking approach. She said: “My professional life has always been rooted in shipping and trade. I believe I can help strengthen the MVS as a unified and forward-thinking organisation, while raising its profile within the wider maritime community. This is about supporting volunteers, promoting opportunities, and helping the organisation thrive. I’m very much looking forward to contributing to that journey.”
The MVS, which was founded in 1994, has about 30 units around the UK coastline and inland waterways, operating a fleet of small vessels which are used to train members in seamanship, engineering, and communications.
Training is at the heart of the service, both afloat and ashore. The MVS trains its members, many of whom have had no previous connection with the sea, in nautical skills, following its own pathway leading to Royal Yachting Association qualifications. These skills are then put into practice to serve local communities and, in some cases, nationally. In recent years, MVS units have assisted in major organised events such as the Tall Ships Race, International Festival of the Sea, the Clipper Race and the 2012 Olympics.
