The first US merchant mariner to be named Connecticut Maritime Association commodore used the occasion to pay tribute to master mariners.

Chembulk chief executive Jack Noonan, who received the award Wednesday at the culmination of the Shipping 2017 conference, said it gave him pause to be recognised for rising from “seafarer to the corner office.”

Noonan spent six years at sea as a deck officer on US-flag ships, rising to the level of chief mate before starting a shoreside career that included stints at Stolt-Nielsen, Clipper Group and SPI Marine.

But