David Snelson Chief Harbour Master, Port of London Authority David Snelson joined the Royal Navy in 1969.  As a junior officer he trained as an Above Water Warfare specialist and served in a variety of ships and also with the RAF as a Fighter Controller.  He commanded HMS Liverpool, including operational duties in the Gulf on the Armilla Patrol and unusually commanded Liverpool a second time in 1997, as Captain commanding Third Destroyer Squadron.  Other operational service included a tour in the Adriatic as Operations Officer for the UK and Dutch Task Group, supporting UN operations in the Balkans.  He commanded the carrier HMS Ark Royal for 14 months, bringing her to full operational readiness after a major refit.  August 2002 saw him take command of UK Maritime Operations in the Middle East, supporting operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. David joined the Port of London Authority as Chief Harbour Master in December 2006 and is also a specialist advisor to the House of Commons Defence Select Committee.