William O’Neil, the International Maritime Organization’s second longest-serving secretary general, has died aged 93.

O’Neil, who led the United Nations’ maritime regulator from 1990 to 2004, is regarded as one of the organisation’s most significant leaders, who helped tackle serious safety failings in the shipping industry during the 1990s.

Current secretary general Kitack Lim described O’Neil, who died on 29 October, as a “truly great secretary general”.