On 16 December 2022, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) issued a media release to announce that Mr Tan Hanqiang, First Secretary (Maritime), High Commission of the Republic of Singapore to the United Kingdom (UK), has been appointed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as Vice-Chair of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), with effect from 16 December 2022. The media release also mentioned that this was the first time a Singaporean has assumed the Vice-Chair appointment for the IMO MEPC since its inception in 1985.
Mr Tan is the first Singaporean in over 20 years (since 1999), who has assumed the Vice-Chair appointment for the IMO MEPC. Previously, an MPA Officer, Mr Zafrul Alam, served as Vice-Chair for IMO MEPC from 1999 to 2000.
