Mr Leendert Bal is as of 1 January 2020 Head of Department Safety, Security and Surveillance of the European Maritime Safety Agency.
This Department is dealing with ship safety, accident investigation, marine equipment, Port State Control, Flag State Implementation, Equasis, MASS – autonomous ships, Places of Refuge, maritime security (incl. ISPS Code), cybersecurity; and maritime surveillance: satellite earth observation, CleanSeaNet, Copernicus Maritime Surveillance Service, RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems) services, RPAS emission and pollution monitoring, satellite communication and satellite AIS.
Mr Bal joined EMSA in 2004 as a policy adviser of the Executive Director and subsequently served as Head of Unit, leading the development of operational projects such as the network of stand-by Oil Recovery Vessels, the European satellite oil spill monitoring and detection service CleanSeaNet, the EU LRIT Data Centre and the ESA-EMSA initiative to create a SAT-AIS capability for Europe.
Between 2009 and 2019 Mr Bal was Head of Department Operations covering maritime information services to Member States and EU bodies and operational assistance for pollution monitoring and response.
He was previously Transport Attaché in Brussels for the Permanent Representation of The Netherlands to the European Union and has been working for the Dutch Ministry of Transport and Public Works, the Netherlands Institute of International Relations “Clingendael” and the Utrecht University.
