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ÉRIC SOREL APPOINTED CHIEF HARBOUR MASTER
16th october 2014

Following the departure of Michel Moal, who was Chief Harbour Master at Grand Port Maritime de Dunkerque (GPMD) from the end of 2009 to 1 October 2014, a new team has just been appointed at the Harbour Master’s Office of Dunkerque-Port.

Éric Sorel has been appointed Chief Harbour Master, Maurice Evain Second Harbour Master and Joël Floch Deputy Harbour Master.

55-year-old Éric Sorel gained his Extra Master’s licence (having entered the National Merchant Navy School in 1976). He then worked at sea for 17 years as officer, chief officer, first assistant engineer and master on all types of merchant vessel such as oil tankers, LNG carriers, container carriers, RoRo vessels, conventional cargo vessels, ore carriers and ferries, and in all types of navigation (coastal, ocean-going, cross-Channel, etc) for several shipping companies including Gazocean, Pétromarine, D’Orbigny and Stena Line. After obtaining his harbour master’s diploma in 1994, he was assigned to Dunkirk where he held many positions in the harbour master’s office: Western and Eastern lookouts, positioning, and hazardous cargoes. He was Second Harbour Master in Le Havre from 2004 to 2007, returning to Dunkirk as head of the «Hazardous Cargoes Office». Second Harbour Master in Dunkirk since 2009, he has been interim Chief Harbour Master since 1 March 2014.

Maurice Evain, aged 59, holds a Mariner’s licence (French Navy). After 17 years of navigation in the French Navy he began a career as dock master in 1989.
Assigned first to Calais, where he was deputy dock master from 1990 to 1998, he then spent a year in Le Havre (1998-1999) as dock master. Then, from 1999 to 2006, he was Deputy Harbour Master in the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer. From 2006 to 2009 he was Hazardous Cargoes Safety Manager, and then Deputy Harbour Master in the Port of Le Havre. Since 2009 he has been Deputy Harbour Master in the Port of Dunkirk in charge of the Hazardous Cargoes Safety Office.

Joël Floch, now 56, joined the French Navy in 1977. He worked at sea for 17 years as officer, chief officer and deputy crew commander, on various types of ship (nuclear missile-launcher submarine, ASM frigate, Aviso, mine-hunter). He holds a specialist Underwater Combat licence and is «ETAMIN» qualified (Mine Warfare Staff Captain).
After passing the Dock Master’s open examination in 2002, he was assigned to Dunkirk where he held successive posts in Western Lookout, Eastern Lookout, Positioning and Coordination for Watchtowers and Docks, until 2009. From 2009 to 2014 he was Harbour Master of the Port of Calais.
Since 1 September 2014 he has been back at Dunkirk as Deputy Harbour Master responsible for the Hazardous Cargoes Office.

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