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Ask the Flag 2024
October 30 @ 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Attention Captains & Owners!
Join us for this panel discussion with the latest changes & compliance updates from the Flag States – IRI/The Marshall Islands Registry, Cayman Islands Shipping Registry, The Bahamas Maritime Authority, Jamaican Ship Registry and the US Flag/Alley, Maass, Rogers & Lindsey, PA.
The USSA “Ask the Flag” Panel: Navigating Regulatory Waters with Expertise combines panelist input and audience participation covering valuable topics to ensure the seamless operation of superyachts worldwide including maritime regulations, compliance, safety standards, and the regulatory landscape.
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
3:30 pm
Bahia Mar Hotel – 2nd Floor
2024 Panelists:
- Moderator: Peter Southgate, Cayman Islands Registry
- Phil Noad, Cayman Islands Registry
- Peter Chesla, IRI – The Marshall Islands Registry
- Kindinicia Moore, The Bahamas Maritime Authority
- Laura Knoll, Alley, Maass, Rogers & Lindsay, P.A.
- Bertrand Smith, Jamaica Ship Registry
Meet the Panel:
Moderator: Peter Southgate, Cayman Islands Registry
Peter is a shipbuilder, naval architect and marine surveyor with nearly 40 years in the maritime industry and is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects. Starting his career at UK shipbuilder Vosper Thornycroft as an apprentice shipwright/metalworker and later as a naval architect in the ship design department.
After a period with Lloyd’s Register specializing in yachts and passenger ships, Peter worked with the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency where he was involved in the implementation and expansion of the large yacht code and directly responsible for the development of LY2. He joined the Cayman Islands Shipping Registry as a marine surveyor where he was instrumental in developing the Register as the world leader in large yacht registration and more recently has played a lead role in the development of the REG Passenger Yacht Code, first published in November 2011.
Peter is a regular panelist at innumerous maritime events and regularly contributes to articles on regulatory matters in industry publications. He is a well-respected authority on matters related to the construction and regulation of ships and large yachts.
Peter has a Law Degree from the University of London and completed the LPC with the University of Law and has subsequently been involved in the development of legislation and providing advice on international maritime regulatory matters.
Peter founded Southgate Maritime Inc in 2018 and is currently serving a Regional Director, Americas for the Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands and is responsible for the Authority’s technical operations in the region.
Peter Chesla, IRI/Marshall Islands Registry
Senior Technical Manager, Yachts
Ft Lauderdale, Florida
Mr. Chesla joined International Registries, Inc. and its affiliates (IRI), which provide administrative and technical support to the Republic of the Marshall Islands Registry, in August 2013 as Safety & Technical Assistant Manager, Yachts. He was promoted to Safety & Technical Manager, Yachts in October 2014, and in January 2021 was promoted to Senior Technical Manager, Yachts. Prior to joining IRI, he spent 13 years with Murray & Associates, LLC, where he gained experience as a Naval Architect in the retrofitting and building sector for yachts. Mr. Chesla holds a B.S. in Ocean Engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology and is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Florida for Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.
Phil Noad, Cayman Island Registry
Phil is a chartered engineer and member of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects and has been in the maritime industry for 30 years. He has worked for a shipyard, Classification Society, cruise ship companies, and two Flag State maritime administrations. He has been with Cayman Registry since 2005 and is currently their Regional Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa.’
Kindinicia, Bahamas Maritime Authority
Kindinicia Moore has over 11 years of experience in the maritime industry and holds a Bachelor’s degree with Honours in International Business with Law, along with a Postgraduate degree in Maritime Operations and Management. She has worked extensively with the Bahamas Maritime Authority’s London and Piraeus offices, specializing in vessel registration. Currently, she serves as the Registrar for the BMA’s New York office. Additionally, Kindinicia has played an integral role in internal projects, including contributing to the development of an online platform to streamline the Authority’s operations.
Laura B. Knoll, Alley, Maas, Rogers & Lindsay, P.A.
Laura B. Knoll is a partner at Alley, Maass, Rogers & Lindsay, P.A., in Palm Beach, where her practice focuses on yacht transactions. Laura represents clients who are buying, selling, building, and chartering yachts and advises on related matters, including regulations, registration, finance, insurance, taxes, and crew.
She is a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy and received her law degree with a Certificate in Admiralty Law from Tulane University Law School.
Laura previously litigated cases involving collisions and allisions of vessels, barge breakaways, seaman personal injuries, and pollution, and served as in-house civilian counsel for the U.S. Coast Guard Eighth District Waterway Management Division.
Bertrand Smith, Maritime Authority of Jamaica
Mr. Smith is an Attorney-at-Law with over twenty (25) years experience in the areas of shipping law and international law and has been responsible for Jamaica’s ratification of a number of maritime treaties and the development of legislation regulating local and international shipping. Mr. Smith is the legal adviser for mega yacht and commercial ship registries administered by the Maritime Authority of Jamaica and heads the Jamaican delegation to the Legal Committee and Marine Environment Protection Committee of the International Maritime Organization, the UN specialised agency for international shipping. Mr. Smith is a graduate of the Norman Manley Law School and pursued a post graduate degree in Shipping at the World Maritime University in Sweden. He has given a number of presentations on shipping law, fisheries law and marine environment protection law is the current chair of the Maritime Law Committee of the Jamaican Bar Association.
