Obituary – Clive Davidson
News has been received of the death on 1 February 2024 of Clive Davidson, former Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and Honorary Member of IALA.
He was IALA President from the 15th IALA Conference held in Sydney in 2002, hosted by AMSA, to the 16th Conference in Shanghai in 2006 hosted by China MSA. He was instrumental in positioning IALA to lead on developing the e-navigation concept.
Appointed CEO of AMSA in May 1998 for a three-year term he was subsequently re-appointed in 2001 for a further three years. In addition he held executive positions at the former Department of Transport and Communications, the Australian Civil Aviation Authority, Siemens Plessey Systems, AMSA Navigational Services and the Federal Office of Asset Relief and IT Outsourcing.
He was a member of the Seafarers’ Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Authority and the Council of the Australian Maritime College, part of the University of Tasmania.
While at AMSA he contributed at the IALA Council where he was remembered for his presentations of such topics as Great Barrier Reef maritime safety and Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT). He held forthright views on aspects of privatisation of marine aids to navigation services.
Under his stewardship AMSA progressed jointly with the Queensland Department of Transport a comprehensive review of the ship reporting system for the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait which monitored shipping movements in this particularly sensitive marine environment. AMSA also worked with the Department in undertaking trials to examine the potential of satellite-based technology to provide near real-time data on shipping within the region.
At the end of the Sydney conference he reflected: ‘Tracking and monitoring are the new buzz words in global navigation and IALA will be at the forefront of the introduction of new technology to make shipping safer and smarter. These are important times for us all.’
At the Shanghai Conference in 2006, from the left, Clive Davidson, HE Admiral Efthimios (Thimio)Mitropoulos, Secretary General of IMO, and Torsten Kruuse, Secretary-General.
Rapporteur: Paul Ridgway
