Charles (Bud) Darr, formerly of the U.S. Coast Guard, has been named Director of Environmental and Health Programs for Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). He will be responsible for all aspects of the cruise industry’s environmental and health matters including chairing CLIA’s environmental and medical Committees and serving as industry liaison to various international organizations.

“Environmental concerns and health issues are two top priorities for the cruise industry. We are delighted to welcome Bud Darr, who has already distinguished himself across a broad range of related activities, to the CLIA team and we look forward to his leadership in these areas,” said Terry L. Dale, CLIA’s president and CEO.

Prior to joining CLIA, Darr served as Deputy Chief of the Coast Guard Office of Maritime and International Law, where his responsibilities included international law development and implementation, vessel inspections, environmental crimes, environmental response, casualty investigations, mariner welfare, drug interdiction, migrant interdiction, fisheries enforcement, and port/vessel security matters.

He joined the Coast Guard in 1993 after graduating cum laude from the United States Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, NY with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Marine Transportation and a license as a deck officer. He was first assigned to Marine Inspection Office New York. During his tour in New York, he served as a marine inspector and the Chief of the Port State Control Branch. In 1995, he transferred to Activities/Marine Inspection Office Europe in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. He also served as a marine inspector and investigating officer throughout Africa, Europe, and Southwest Asia.

In 1998, Darr was selected for the Coast Guard’s Law Advanced Education Program and sent to The George Washington University Law School, where he graduated with high honors in 2001. He has served on United States delegations to the International Maritime Organization at the Assembly, Committee, Sub-Committee, and Working Group levels. In this capacity he has served as delegation head and as chairman of numerous working, drafting, and consultative groups. He served as the Chairman of the Drafting Committee for the Diplomatic Conference that adopted the Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009.

Darr also was a key advisor for the Coast Guard and United States Government on a wide range of counter piracy topics and has served on and supported the United States delegations to the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia and its four Working Groups. He is a frequent international speaker on a wide range of maritime safety and environmental protection issues. He has been selected as a faculty member for many training forums, including the Department of Justice National Advocacy Center.

Prior to attending Kings Point and joining the Coast Guard, Darr was an enlisted submarine nuclear propulsion supervisor in the US Navy. He joined the Navy in 1983 and served on board the USS Baton Rouge (SSN 689) and as an instructor at Naval Nuclear Propulsion Training Unit Ballston Spa, New York.

Darr is licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Most recently, he was selected as the Federal Bar Association’s 2009 Transportation Security Lawyer of the Year.