Marygrace Collins
Shipbroker Marygrace Collins of US based Bulkore Chartering Inc was elected as President of The Federation of National Associations of Shipbrokers and Agents (FONASBA) at the organisation’s 43rd Annual Meeting in Venice on Friday 12 October. She succeeds Christakis Papavassiliou who steps down after his two year term of office.
“I’m delighted and honoured to have been elected as president of an organisation which provides a united voice for the world’s shipbrokers and agents. We will continue to work hard to promote fair and equitable practices and ensure that the needs of our members are understood at both a governmental level and across the maritime industry, ” said Marygrace Collins.
Thanking Christakis Papavassiliou, she noted that FONASBA would be concentrating its efforts to get more companies to sign up to the FONASBA Quality Standard in 2013. Launched in 2007, the FONASBA Quality Standard is designed to assist shipowners and operators to identify those agents and brokers who are well-funded and demonstrate a tangible commitment to quality. Another goal of Mrs. Collins’ term of office will be to further promote the importance of education and training within the membership. FONASBA’s efforts in this regard have also been bolstered by the appointment of Capt. Jakov Karmelic as Vice President for Education, whose role is to coordinate the education programmes provided within the Federation’s membership.
Based at London’s Baltic Exchange, FONASBA is made up of 38 national associations of shipbrokers and agents with a further 11 countries represented by associate or candidate members.
Marygrace Collins has been a shipbroker since 1982 and is currently Vice-President of New York based Bulkore Chartering Inc. She has been a FONASBA director since 2006. She served on the Association of. Ship Brokers & Agents (USA) (ASBA) between 1995 and 2008 and was the association’s first female president. She was educated Georgetown and Saint Leo universities and holds a bachelor’s degree in Portuguese. Throughout her career she has worked for several multinational mining companies involved largely in the iron ore trade. She remains active in ASBA, as conference Chair for its annual Cargo Conference and as a moderator for the Association’s Home Study Course, “The Basic Principles of Chartering”. Mrs. Collins is a member of WISTA, the Connecticut Maritime Association, and serves on the Industry Advisory Board of the Global Business and Transportation Department of the Maritime College of the State University of New York.
Founded in 1969, the FONASBA focuses on liner and tramp chartering, sale & purchase and documentary affairs across all shipping markets.
FONASBA has consultative status at the International Maritime Organzation (IMO), United Nations Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD) and the World Customs Organization (WCO). It also works closely with shipowning bodies BIMCO, Intercargo and Intertanko.
FONASBA’s relationship with the European Commission is handled through a sub-committee, the European Community Association of Shipbrokers & Agents (ECASBA). ECASBA provides input into European seaport, port services, shortsea shipping, shipping safety and EDI policies as well as customs and administrative procedures www.fonasba.net
