Keynote Speakers

Captain Mohamad Halim bin Ahmed is currently the Director General of Marine, Marine Department Malaysia. He received his Master’s in Science from the World Maritime University in 2004 and Master of Foreign Going Ships 1995 from New Zealand Maritime Safety Agency. 

Before joining Marine Department Malaysia in 1996, he had sailed on various types of ship trading worldwide with the position as cadet, Officer in charge of Navigational Watch, Chief Officer, and Master. 

He then joined the Marine Department as a Marine Officer, later as the Head of Ship Safety, Head of Seafarer Development and Head of Aids to Navigation in 2010. 

In 2014, Captain Mohamad Halim was appointed as the Director of Safety Navigation, and from 2016 to 2018, he was the Alternate Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the International Maritime Organisation, Maritime Attaché I, High Commission of Malaysia for the United Kingdom, and Northern Ireland. Furthermore, Captain Mohamad Halim has been appointed as Board of Director  of Light Dues Board, Lembaga Pelabuhan Labuan, Maritime Institute of Malaysia and Perlindungan dan Indemniti Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. 

He also received Excellence Service Award in Public Service for 2016 in Higher Professional and Management Level Category. Beside his management positions and responsibilities, Captain Mohamad Halim has published three (3) coffee table books, entitled Safety of Navigation Modernisation: Monitoring Ships (2016), Lights by the Sea: Beacons in the Straits (2016); and Lights by the Sea (2014). In 2008, he wrote a book on Guide on the Rules and Regulation of the Collision Avoidance at Sea (including the safe navigation in Straits of Malacca and Singapore). Among the papers Captain Mohamad Halim has presented in several conferences and seminars are; Ballast Water Management Implementation – the Applicability of Same Risk Area Modalities in Jakarta, Indonesia; Gearing Towards Low Sulphur Limit 2020 in Johor Bahru; and Introduction of Malaysia Shipping Master Plan 2017 – 2022 “Revitalizing shipping for a stronger economy” in London.

Prof. Ir. Dr. Sjarief Widjaja was born on July 20, 1963. Completed his bachelor's degree in Naval Architecture from Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) Surabaya in 1987 and received his Master in Ship Production Management, Department of Ship and Marine Technology  in 1989. In 1992, he received his  doctorate in Computer Aided Ship Production from the same university. 

He is a lecturer at the Department of Marine Engineering Surabaya and is currently receiving an assignment outside ITS. The highest dedication at ITS was when he was appointed as Vice Rector for Finance and Administration at ITS from 2003 to 2007. 

Furthermore, he was appointed as the Chairman of Agency for Marine and Fisheries Research and Human Resources, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries of the Republic of Indonesia from 2018 to 2021. He was also the Director General of Capture Fisheries, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Republic of Indonesia, from 2017 to 2018; and, Secretary General, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Republic of Indonesia, from 2013 to 2017. 

Previously, he conducted research in various national funded research project, among others in developing the Special Economic Zone (KEK) for Shipbuilding Industry (2007), and he had authored “The Role of Maritime Industry for Supporting the National Economic Growth, National Conference on Marine Technology” in 2008, and “Development of Simulation Model of the Sustainable Fisheries Management Policy” in 2012. 

Prof. Ir. Dr. Sjarief Widjaja was the speaker on Food and Agriculture Organization – the Committee on Fisheries 33 (FAO-COFI 33) on the same topic in a side event titled “Responsible Fisheries Value Chains” in 2018. Besides that, he also delivered a speech in United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights (FBHR) in Geneva, Switzerland in-side event titled “The Rule of Law Reform in Indonesian Fishing Industry”, where he presented Indonesia’s policy in protecting human rights in fisheries industry in 2017.