Max Mejia

Biography

Education: PhD Law and Ergonomics in Maritime Security, Lund University MSc Marine Safety Administration, World Maritime University Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University Tekn Lic, Licentiate of Engineering, Lund University BS United States Naval Academy. Professor Max Mejia is Director of the PhD Program and Head of the Maritime Law and Policy Specialization at the World Maritime University (WMU), 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 his 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.” Prof. Mejia has been a lecturer and speaker at workshops and conferences in more than 30 different countries, in all the world’s continents except Antarctica – from as far north as Svalbard/Spitzbergen in the polar circle to down under in Australia. The author/co-author of more than 60 published papers and the editor/co-editor of 7 books, Dr. Mejia’s focus areas of research and teaching are maritime policy, maritime law, maritime labour law and policy, human factors, safety, and security-related issues. He also serves as an Associate Editor of the WMU Journal of Maritime Affairs. Dr. Mejia took a sabbatical from the World Maritime University to serve as Administrator (Director General) of the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) from May 2013 to July 2016. MARINA is the maritime administration in the Philippines, tasked with integrating the development, promotion, and regulation of the maritime industry. As Administrator, Dr. Mejia was chief architect and implementer of a comprehensive reform of the country’s maritime education, training, and certification system as well as other wide-ranging maritime safety improvement programs. In 2013, Lloyd’s List included Dr. Mejia in its list of the world’s 100 Most Influential Persons in the Shipping Industry.

Research Interest

Maritime security; Maritime law; Maritime policy; Navigational safety