Chris Balls
Master Mariner and Chartered Engineer

Chris Balls was brought up in the UK on a boatyard on the Norfolk Broads. He then went to sea for 25 years in the Merchant Navy serving on various ship types, most recently as a senior deck officer aboard cruise ships. He has earned both a Master Mariner and Chartered Engineer endorsement.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects and an Associate Fellow the Nautical Institute. When he left the sea, he joined the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) as a Marine Surveyor conducting safety inspections, audits and surveys of ships as well as examining deck officer candidates for their certificates of competency.

After 10 years with MCA, he became Chief Marine Surveyor in Antigua and Barbuda, conducting local ship inspections and overseeing safety aspects of their international fleet, developing maritime legislation and representing the country at the International Maritime Organization.

He also conducted various investigations of local marine casualties. After four years, in early 2017, he accepted a position with the Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands as Principal Surveyor in George Town.

He currently conducts flag state surveys, audits and inspections on Cayman registered merchant vessels and yachts, as well as Port Sate Control inspections of visiting foreign flagged vessels. He has presented various papers on autonomous shipping at ICMASS and RINA conferences.