A maritime salvage expert from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
Hugh Shaw -
Mr Shaw, who lives in North East Fife, has worked for the MCA for over 35 years and has been the UK’s salvage chief for nearly 10 years. Hugh’s OBE award recognises the huge personal responsibility and crucial decisions he has overseen to protect the UK’s unique coastal environment from maritime incidents.
This role carries an enormous weight of responsibility, where one wrong decision could have catastrophic repercussions. His skill and expertise has ensured that there has been no significant pollution from shipping or from offshore installations since 2008.
Most recently he took control of the government response to the grounding of the Transocean Winner oil rig on Lewis last August.
He led a successful salvage operation that further demonstrated his unfailing ability to remain calm and logical in a crisis and to bring parties together to prevent pollution and protect the public.
Other notable incidents establishing Hugh’s salvage expertise include the Hoegh Osaka
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Mr Shaw said: “To receive this OBE is an incredible honour and I’m humbled to be recognised for the maritime and salvage work.
“This honour would not have been possible without the help and support of my colleagues both past and present, not only in the MCA, but also within our partner organisations, environment groups, marine insurance and salvage sector.
“There have been challenging times, but this work has given me great satisfaction, especially when I know we have made a difference to the environment for future generations.”
Transocean Winner oil rig salvage chief recognised in Queen's Birthday Honours
19 June 2017
Hugh Shaw