Captain David Bruce

IMO Secretary-General Statement

Picture: Captain David Bruce (left) and his wife Alison attend the 2018 World Maritime Day Reception at IMO. 

3 October 2023  

IMO Secretary-General Statement 

Captain David Bruce  

Captain David J.F. Bruce, Permanent Representative of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and Senior Deputy Commissioner of Maritime Affairs, RMI Maritime Administrator, has passed away.

IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim said:

“It is with great sadness that we have learned of the passing of Captain David Bruce, who represented the Republic of the Marshall Islands at IMO, as Permanent Representative, since 2002 – but whose links with IMO go back nearly 50 years.

Captain Bruce was a great friend to IMO and to all of us. His deep insights into maritime issues were guided by his long experience at sea since the late 1950s and onshore with maritime administration and ship registries since 1972.

Over the decades, his input at IMO meetings has been truly remarkable. Captain Bruce was involved with nearly every aspect of shipping rules and standards developed at IMO, for safety, security, and environmental performance of international shipping. We will all miss his knowledge, expertise and wisdom.

I convey my deepest condolences, and those of the entire IMO family, to Captain Bruce’s family, to the Government of the Marshall Islands and to his colleagues and friends.

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