WISTA-UK is delighted to congratulate Louise Krenca on her promotion to partner at Ince & Co with effect from 1"' May 1998.

Louise has been involved in WISTA since 1993. Presently she is the Secretary of WISTA-UK. Many of our members will know Louise as a talented lawyer specialising in all aspects of shipping, energy and insurance law matters. She has reputation for having a user friendly and imaginative approach, whilst being very tough when necessary. It goes without saying that she also has a very good legal brain. Louise joins the small number of women who have actually made it to the top at Ince & Co, becoming their fifth female partner (out of 54!). We wish her every success for the future.(Louise can be contacted at Ince & Co on +44 (0)171 623 2011- don"t forget to mention WISTA!).

Karina Albers from Howe Robinson Shipbrokers, was re-elected the Chairman (Chairwoman) of the Young Baltic Association, to serve during 1998.

Karina was in the team from the Batic Exchange whick took part recently in a charity event at Kings Cross, racing Go-karts. She was the fastest woman in the race. Over 100 people took part in the event (only 30 women), and Karina was 25th crossing the winning line!

FAREWELL JUDITH & GOOD LUCK IN NEW YORK

Judith Francis, the Registrar of Ships at BAHAMAS MARITIME, the third largest fleet in the world, has moved from London to New York. We wish Judith GOOD LUCK on her new assignment and hope to see her at the New York Conference. For those of you who wish to contact Judith, she is at the offices of the Bahamas Maritime Authority in New York;

Judith Francis
Bahamas Maritime Authority
231 East 46^th Street
New York, NY 10017
USA
Tel: + 1 212 421 6420
Fax: + 1 212 688 5926

Did you know that …
….WISTA has a presence in over 20 countries worldwide?

We have at present a total of 71 WISTA-UK members of whom 59 are also international members.

INTERNET & E-MAIL LECTURE

How many of you would like to learn about the Internet and e-mail without pressure and at your own pace?
Here's your chance! Interested? Please call Maria Dixon (0181- 687 0797), as she is planning to organise some seminars and lectures on the Internet, E-Mail and other computers topics. The meetings will be organised to take place one weekend just for a few hours at an Internet Café in Central London. There you will have the chance to experience the Net. Please do not miss the article in this issue about the Internet written by the WISTA's webmaster.

NEWS FROM WISTA -INTERNATIONAL

The WISTA INTERNATIONAL Board met in London on March 28th. During this meeting the UK opposed an increase to their annual membership fee.
A new Membership book will be published shortly and handed over soon. We have to remind our UK members who also are International Members that they will be able to obtain a copy of the book for US$ 50.00 + p&p. Any non-international member who wishes to purchase one, must contact Maria Dixon in order to get an order form. The cost for the book is US$ 50.00 + P&P for non-members. (The information given here is the correct and updated version which accords to the resolution passed at the International Board Meeting in New York on Wednesday 16th September 1998 )

ON LINE SHIPPING DISCUSSIONS

Barry Parker, an American colleague in the Shipping World introduced last February the Shipping Virtual Conference in the Internet.

Mr. Parker runs very successfully, the Virtual Conference and Video Conferences for the Connecticut Maritime Association. In these, were comments and opinions from professionals of the shipping industry and there was the chance to read and learn from some very interesting postings.

A series of new online Conferences discussions are planned on the Internet. The first topic launched was Ship Finance, followed by a Conference on ISM and Quality matters.

The online Conferences center around online threaded discussions, which are tied to agendas for physical conferences and/or to articles from the media which are relevant to the discussions. The conferences have already proven to provide both information and networking opportunities.

Please take a minute to look at...

New Shipping Enterprise

Maria Dixon is no longer working at the consulate. She is now working as a shipping consultant, after successfully completing a lead auditor’s course on ISM. She is now on the practical phase to becoming an IRCA registered ISM Auditor. Her new details are at the end of the newsletter.