MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust chair to step down

Donald Lamont former Ambassador in Uruguay and former GovernorFalkland Islands

Donald Lamont, long-serving Chair of the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust board of Trustees is retiring from his roles as chairman and Trustee. He will relinquish his role as chairman on 21st October 2024 and will resign as a Trustee on 4th November 2024.

Donald helped found the charity in October 2014 along with fellow Trustees David Ainslie, Mensun Bound and Bill Featherstone, fulfilling a lifetime interest in the maritime history of the Falkland Islands.

Says Donald Lamont: “It has been a unique privilege to chair the Trust from its foundation. The discovery of SMS SCHARNHORST, sunk in the Battle of the Falklands, and the success of the documentary paved the way for the larger scale and complexity of the Endurance22 Expedition and the feature-length National Geographic documentary that recently had its world première at the London Film Festival. I’m also pleased that the Trust's website now contains a valuable database of Falklands wrecks and there are several other projects in hand.

“As the Trust addresses its obligations to the scientific community, turns to building a sustainable future on the basis of its success in locating Endurance, and seeks to learn from its experience in applying technology to its education and outreach efforts, it is time for fresh eyes and new ideas. I wish success to my fellow Trustees and those who bring their expertise to the service of the Trust.”

Taking over as acting chair of the charity is FMHT Trustee Saul Pitaluga: “From the beginning Donald Lamont has been an integral part of this charity’s exciting journey to uncover maritime mysteries and enhance the world’s understanding of the importance of the Falkland Islands in the long story of the sea in the Southern Ocean and beyond. We thank him for his decade of service. I will chair the board while we conduct a thorough and proper search for someone to take over the role of chairman on a permanent basis.

“All of us wish Donald a long and happy retirement, and a far more relaxing time than he has enjoyed as he navigated the Trust through the past 10 years.”

FMHT is a UK registered charity dedicated to preserving the rich and varied seafaring history of the Falklands and to ensure that the maritime events that have shaped the culture of the islands are properly recognised. The Trust has helped organise major expeditions to find, evaluate and safeguard historic shipwrecks that have lain undiscovered since disaster struck. These include the discovery of SMS Scharnhorst, in December 2019, and Sir Ernest Shackleton’s polar ice ship, Endurance, in March 2022. 

Donald Lamont is a British diplomat who was appointed Falkland Islands Governor from 1999 to 2002. Previously he had been ambassador before the Uruguayan government from 1991 to 1994. Following the Falklands he was appointed ambassador to Venezuela, 2003/2006, in the apex of president Hugo Chavez years, later dictator, and a good friend of then Ken Livingstone, the first elected mayor of London who served for two terms.

More info about Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust.