IMO names Pimentel to manage Philippines office

IMO names Pimentel to manage Philippines office    The International Maritime Organization has opened a regional office in Manila, the Philippines, and appointed Brenda Pimentel as regional coordinator.
   Pimentel was overseas shipping director for the Maritime Industry Authority in the Philippines.
   Before extending its reach to the Philippines, IMO had established three African regional offices in Kenya, Ghana, and Abidjan. The Manila office is the organization’s first in the East Asian sub-region.
   The new office “will play a key role in assisting countries in the region to meet their implementation obligations,” said Efthimios Mitropoulos, assistant secretary-general of the London-based IMO. Mitropoulos traveled to Manila for an inaugural ceremony.
   IMO is the United Nations specialized agency with responsibility for the safety of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution by ships.