IMA-UK is governed by an executive committee. The committee meets regularly in order to ensure that plans, projects and programmes are followed up and concluded successfully. The Committee also meets at any time when there are critical issues that impact the well-being of the membership.
The Committee is elected for a one -year period and includes the Chairman, Vice Chairman, a Secretary and a Treasurer. The Committee also invites as appropriate Members to work on the various commissions that take care of the day-to-day work and activities of the Association.
Brief Descriptions of the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer and the committee is as below:
Executive Committee Members
Monica Kohli – Chairperson
Monica is a Senior Lawyer at GARD UK Ltd. She is dual qualified, registered both in India and the UK (Solicitor, England and Wales). Monica comes from a nautical background with her father and brother sailing with the merchant navy before coming ashore. She naturally graduated towards maritime law, working in India for ten years with the leading maritime chambers before moving to UK and has been working with Gard for the last decade. She has been advising Ship Owners and Charterers on maritime issues and has been guiding legal strategy for members in Norway, UK, Italy, India, Middle East, Turkey, Singapore and Germany. Besides advising members on maritime law and contract, Monica is also working with Defence Innovation – looking into technology to improve efficiencies and streamline the legal insurance product.
Monica has an Executive MBA in Shipping and Logistics , Copenhagen business school and a Masters in Law (shipping) from the University of Southampton. She graduated from the National Law School of India University in 1999 and has been named one of the top 100 Women in Shipping, 2019.
Akshay Misra – Vice Chairperson
Akshay is a Managing Associate at Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP. He started his career with an IG Group Club prior to qualifying with another maritime firm in the city, where he practised for over ten years. He is renowned for his expertise in London maritime arbitration and commercial court litigation. He is often praised for his hands-on approach to delivering cost effective solutions for clients.
Akshay works closely with a broad range of clients including Ship Owners, Charterers, Ship Managers, P&I Clubs, brokers as well as with foreign lawyers. Akshay has extensive experience in dealing with multi-jurisdictional disputes and has experience in handling a wide portfolio of litigation matters such as challenging jurisdiction; applications to set aside freezing injunctions as well as challenges of arbitration awards brought under Section 67, 68 and 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996. Akshay has also travelled on assignment to negotiate the successful release of vessels detained by local authorities, settle claims with charterers and oversee transhipment contracts and exercises.
Sagun Sudhir – Secretary
Travis Vaz – Treasurer
Travis Vaz is a Captain/Master Mariner who has served on Gas, Chemical and Oil tankers; Survey and Ro-Pax vessels; and is presently working as a Loss Prevention Executive with Steamship Mutual.
Amarinder Singh Brar
Amarinder started his career in 1997 as a Trainee Nautical Officer Cadet where he qualified in first position within his cohort. He then worked on various types of ships such as general cargo, product tanker, crude oil tanker and containerships while passing all of his competency examinations at the first attempt. He obtained his first Command in 2008.
His career at sea spanned over 17 years (1997 – 2014) during which he worked with a national shipping line, a leading ship manager and the largest non-operating owners of container ships. He also qualified as an approved Trainer and Assessor after lecturing at a maritime training institute. During this time he also obtained a PGDip in Marine Insurance from WMU Malmo.
In 2015, he obtained an LLM in Maritime Law with Merit from the University of Southampton. In 2016, he joined the Maritime and Coast Guard Agency as a Nautical Surveyor. As a result, he is familiar with regulatory surveys, inspections, audits, verifications and PSC inspection requirements and procedures for almost all types of ships. He also examined all grades of candidates under both STCW & BML regs, routinely audited ATPs and approved courses.
In 2019, he joined London Offshore Consultants (LOC), now part of the AqualisBraemar LOC Group. At LOC, he gained experience in marine warranty surveys, ship inspections, ship audits, acting as an expert witness role, casualty investigations, and VDR and AIS analysis. This included particular focus on container ship incident management and consultancy work.
He also presented in LISW events and guest lectured in maritime university courses.
Vinod Ranganathan – Auditor
Capt Vinod Ranganathan is a senior marine surveyor with Bermuda Ship Registry. He is responsible for carrying out surveys and ISM/ ISPS Audits on Ships(all types- Passengers, Gas carriers, Tankers and Large Yachts), Offshore vessels, FPSOs, and Drill rigs for compliance with various international conventions and statutory requirements.
Rohinton Khajotia
After graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce degree (B.Com – Honours) followed by a post graduate degree in commercial law (LL.B) and subsequently completing a Master of Management Studies (MMS) programme, he joined Godrej Industries Ltd as an Executive in the International Trade Division responsible for driving businesses in South East Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
He rose from General Manager of Godrej Industries Ltd to become Vice President of Godrej International Ltd and is currently Head of the London office of Godrej Group. The company is mainly engaged in Commodity Trading and shipping of Oleo Chemicals, Speciality Fats, Edible and Inedible Oils covering the American, European and South East Asian markets.
Pushkar Gadam
Manager of Technical Performance, Lloyd’s Agency Network
Pushkar currently works at Lloyd’s of London and heads the technical performance team in the Lloyd’s Agency Department. He is a Master Mariner with nearing a decade experience in marine insurance – P&I, Hull and Marine Cargo. On a personal note – he is also a motorcycle enthusiast, runner and more recently a woodworking trainee.
Captain Maneesh Varma
Captain Maneesh Varma has 25 years experience at sea, he worked through the ranks to Captain for Maersk. He also worked in Commercial Operations for Holbud Ship Management, London and SPL Shipping, New Delhi.
Captain Varma has held numerous roles in the maritime training sector, working as senior lecturer in simulation at Warsash Maritime Academy, Lowestoft College and Liverpool John Moores University. Currently working as Training and Accreditation Development Manager for The Nautical Institute, he works to enhance and manage The Nautical Institute CPD services.
Suhas Kajrolkar
He is the regional head, The Shipping Corporation of India Ltd, London.
Layesh Premraj
Captain Layesh Premraj is a Master Mariner with 18 years of experience on commercial vessels, including four years in command. Now a Trainee Solicitor at Floyd Zadkovich’s London office, he combines hands-on maritime expertise with legal knowledge. He began his career with a major shipping company, earning a Diploma in Maritime Studies from the Singapore Maritime Academy, and gained experience as both a deck officer and Marine Engineer. Layesh holds an LLM in International Maritime Law from Swansea University.