Meet the 2023 Winners

Abdulla Al Hashmi, Chief Operating Officer, Parks and Zones - DP World UAE

Abdulla Al Hashmi, Chief Operating Officer, Parks and Zones – DP World UAE oversees Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), Dubai Auto Zone (DAZ) and National Industries Park (NIP). As part of the organisation, he took on various roles, the last being Vice President of Business Intelligence, and Senior Manager of Corporate Finance and Business Development. Abdulla holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from the Higher College of Technology. Al Hashmi is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience and has led the formation of several investment strategies to support the group’s vision to transform from a port operator to a global trade enabler by expanding DP World’s involvement in other supply chain components. 

Capt. Shawn Sequeira is a Master Mariner who is currently serving as Commercial Operations Manager with Triton Navigation, a part of the Sumitomo Group and is responsible for managing the Company's fleet of Tankers, Car Carriers and Bulk Carriers. He has an extensive experience in Commercial Operations, Maritime business development, Bunker procurement, Port/Tanker terminals, Maritime education, Maritime security risk evaluation, Port costs management efficiency and also promotes seafarer's welfare. Having sailed on various types on vessels which includes Chemical and product tankers, bulk carriers, container and refer vessels, he understands the unique challenges faced at sea.

He is also part of the Management Committee at the Nautical Institute and ICS, London which are prestigious shipping organizations.

A staunch advocate to promote the mental health of seafarer's across various shipping forums, Shawn is closely associated with ISWAN, an NGO which works to promote and support seafarer's around the globe.

He believes that incorporating more sustainable measures and digitalization in shipping will be a driving force impacting the shipping organisations' decisions going forward to reduce our carbon footprint. These come with its own set of unique challenges with the final goal being to achieve net zero emissions thus enabling a more sustainable future. 

Gina Panayiotou is the ESG Manager at West of England P&I Club, responsible for leading its’ Environmental, Social and Governance Strategy, representing the Club at the International Group (IG) Sustainability Committee and heads West’s global ESG working group.

As a maritime lawyer and industry strategist with an MBA focused on change management and ethical leadership, Gina has held senior roles mainly within shipowning organisations and founded her consultancy firm Oceans Arena, aimed at supporting industry stakeholders with practical ESG strategies, covering the whole scope of formulation, implementation, compliance and brand positioning. She has also acted as a Communications Consultant of the IMO-UNEP-Norway Innovation Forum. Based in London, Gina is the UK Chair of the G100 Network Sustainable Brand Creation & Marketing, the Secretary of WISTA UK and Co-Chair of the WISTA International Environmental Committee, while she also supports the World Ocean Council as an associate on Law & Ocean Sustainable Development and is an Associate Tutor at MLA College.

Furthermore, Gina has been featured among the “Top Maritime Influencers you should follow” by Marine Traffic, shortlisted for the Inspirational Influencer Awards in the Global Impact category for her work on youth and female empowerment, leading the initiative “Brand women as leaders” aimed at helping women build their personal brand to shine for success.   She has also been ranked by Legal 500, GC Powerlist Greece and Cyprus as one of the Top 100 in-house counsel driving innovation within their sector, has been featured in the Top 100 Women in Shipping list for 4 consecutive years and successfully hosts a broadcast “Oceans Arena Stage” which is committed to branding the industry that makes the world go round, while has recently been appointed UK Ambassador of Seatrade Maritime Club.

Mark Lakin is an English-qualified partner and advocate specialising in all aspects of maritime and international trade.

He has over a decade of experience representing trading houses, shipowners, charterers, banks, investment funds and oil and gas majors before the English, DIFC and UAE Courts, as well as a wide range of arbitrations under the DIAC, DIFC-LCIA (prior to its amalgamation into the Dubai International Arbitration Centre), LCIA, LMAA, UNCITRAL, GAFTA, FOSFA, SIAC and HKIAC Rules, and was lead counsel on the first case before the Emirates Maritime Arbitration Centre.

He is also experienced on the transactional side of the maritime and trade sectors, having been on secondment to leading trade finance houses, commodities traders and banks. He regularly drafts bespoke sale contracts and advises on the full range of trade related documentation.

Mark is recognised as a "recommended lawyer" for shipping and dispute resolution: arbitration and international litigation by Legal 500 EMEA 2023, where he is praised by clients for routinely providing "strategic advice". He is also listed in Seatrade Maritime Middle East's '20 under 40 leaders of tomorrow' 2021 and 2023 list.

Anan Abdullatif is a Senior Commercial Manager with Asyad Shipping Company and is responsible for managing the company's fleet of LNG vessels. Anan is one of the very few women in Oman who started her career in the male dominated maritime industry and is the only woman in the company and the country who is a full-fledged chartering executive with 18 years in the LNG chartering business dealing in the international market. Her experience includes negotiating the terms and conditions of commercial/shipping agreements and securing long-term charters for the company's LNG vessels with major gas companies worldwide. Anan manages contracts that generate more than $150 million in revenues annually.

Anan holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Royal Holloway University of London.

Danial Kaabi is the  CEO of  Sea Horizon Offshore Marine Services, a company committed to servicing multinational companies and delivering excellence of services globally. Coming from a family with long-standing success within the sector, Danial has strong foundations and a deep understanding of numerous aspects of maritime and offshore operations and has been featured in industry publications as an expert in his field.

Having studied Global Business at the Harvard Business School and Economics and Business Management at York and Ryerson University respectively, Danial has been leading the third-generation family business from a very young age with great success, growing its’ international outreach. He is a firm believer of building and sustaining firm, family-like relationships with clients and business partners, while with entrepreneurism at his core.

Passionate about youth empowerment, Danial is an active member of YoungShip UAE, an non-profit organisation which aims at empowering the youth in maritime, as he very much enjoys inspiring and supporting the new generation entering the industry at every given opportunity.

Additionally, he has also been appointed as a Sea Trade Maritime Club ambassador to Qatar as he aims to promote the platform and attract the industry leaders in the region. 

Anastasiia is a Senior Associate at the Firm’s shipping and dispute resolution department.  Her practice is predominantly focused on dispute resolution, encompassing both, litigation, and arbitration, under various institutional rules.

Anastasiia has graduated from the Russian Academy for Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation in 2014 and graduated from King’s College London, University of London in LLM in International Corporate and Commercial Law in 2020.

She has a solid experience in legal positions within multinational well-known automotive brands in Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Her last position was as a Lawyer for the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan Republic and the Kingdom of Norway (within the Law Department of Northern and Eastern Europe), where she was in charge with all the Company’s legal issues, especially pertaining to cross-border disputes.

As a litigation lawyer, Anastasiia was successfully representing the Companies’ interests in high profile arbitration cases connected with various shipping and energy and commodities disputes. She also consults the Clients on various matters connected with international trade, dry and wet shipping.

Hamed Fathi is a Director and Head of Legal of International Marine and Energy DMCC (IME). He is a regular contributor to industry magazines and a recognised speaker at various events, presenting thoughts on a wide array of issues and current affairs relating to the maritime and energy sectors.

Prior to joining IME, Hamed accrued a wealth of legal expertise working for a number of the leading global law firms, including Sidley Austin LLP, Linklaters LLP and DLA Piper LLP. Specialising in structured finance and banking law, Hamed advised a range of large global banks and corporations such as JP Morgan, Lehman Brothers investors, Barclays, Etihad and UAE-based sovereign wealth funds. His financial experience began at the United Bank of Switzerland in London as a financial analyst.

Amongst other achievements, Hamed was listed for consecutive years by the Legal 500 directory as a ‘Next Generation Lawyer' in the banking and finance sector. Hamed attended university at King’s College London, where he was awarded an LLM in Carriage of Goods by Sea, International Trade Law, Law of International Finance, and World Trade Law.

Hamed is based in the International Marine and Energy office in Dubai, UAE.

Mahmoud is a bilingual managing associate specialising in contentious matters in the maritime industry.

Mahmoud has in-depth experience acting on behalf of a wide variety of companies within the maritime industry including owners, traders, bunker suppliers, agents, cargo interests, charterers,  insurers and P&I Clubs. He advises on matters in connection with disputes arising from fraudulent bills of lading and other maritime contracts, vessel arrests, cargo and bunker claims and  marine insurance.

Mahmoud is a key lawyer within the team handling the majority of our ship arrest matters. He has recently been involved in numerous significant debt collection cases leading to ship arrests and bankruptcy applications being made before UAE Courts under the UAE Bankruptcy Law, often obtaining successful outcomes for his clients.

Antonina Polovenko is 29 years, woman of Ukrainian nationality, Owner of LLC "Aquamarine Crew Agency", in Ukraine. She opened her Company on her Own, without additional support, from O. When she was 24 years old, she flew to Piraeus, Greece only with the presentation of her Agency in hands to find a future partner - Shipowner, and thanks to her courage and determination she did it. Now Antonina has a stable and truthful crewing Agency which provides manning services for the leading Shipping Companies in the Middle East such as BAHRI Shipmanagement. Also, Antonina is establishing the department of Aquamarine Crew Agency in Dubai -  the Shipmanagement Company for contributing and growth of the local economy. As a member of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology (IMarEST), Antonina belongs to a global group of marine professionals across over 120 countries.

Hussein Al Riyami. An active international deals maker for transporting energy products around the world via ships. Currently working as “Assistant Manager- Chartering/Commercial team.” More than 10 years of work experience. Master degree from Maritime & Logistics University (STC Group), Netherlands in major of Shipping & Transport. Bachelor degree from Sultan Qaboos University, Oman in major of Operations Management. Objective: To always enhance my career path, keep improving, looking for new opportunities & challenges, being influenced leader in the top leading organizations producing positive results to people and communities. Values: accountable, hard working, achievements oriented and forward & positive thinker. Skills: leadership, time management, active communications, persuasive negotiations.