OF COUNSEL
Maximo Q Mejia Jr, PhD
MAXIMO Q MEJIA JR is Professor of Maritime Law and Policy at the World Maritime University (WMU), Malmö, Sweden where he has been a member of the resident faculty since 1998. Before joining WMU, he saw duty on board various naval and coast guard vessels as well as in shore-based facilities in the Philippines.
His assignments included, inter alia, Commanding Officer of Port State Control Office Manila, Commander of Coast Guard Station Iligan, Deputy Executive Director of the Presidential Task Force on Maritime Development, and Assistant Chief of Staff for Navigational Safety. He earned his Bachelor of Science at the United States Naval Academy (Annapolis, Maryland, USA) and majored in International Security Studies while pursuing a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy at the Fletcher School (Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA).
He also has a Master of Science in Maritime Safety Administration from the World Maritime University (Malmö, Sweden) and a Licentiate of Engineering and Doctor of Philosophy from Lund University (Lund, Sweden). His PhD thesis is entitled “Law and Ergonomics in Maritime Security.”
MAXIMO Q MEJIA JR, continued...
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Aside from teaching maritime policy, law, human factors, and security-related courses, Prof. Mejia has led and participated in ISPS Code workshops and maritime law and policy seminars in a number of different countries. He is the editor/co-editor of seven books on maritime affairs, the author/co-author of book chapters as well as articles published in international peer-reviewed journals.
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Dr. Mejia took a sabbatical from the World Maritime University to serve as Administrator of the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) from May 2013 to July 2016. MARINA, an attached agency of the Department of Transportation, is tasked with integrating the development, promotion, and regulation of the maritime industry within the Philippines. As Administrator, Dr. Mejia was instrumental in implementing comprehensive reforms of the country’s maritime education, training, and certification system as well as other wide-reaching maritime safety improvement programs.