Newcastle upon Tyne, UK – Safinah Group (UK) is pleased to announce that its Founder Dr. M. Raouf Al-Kattan DSc(Eng) FREng. has been honoured in the New Year Honours list for 2025 with the award of an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to marine engineering.
Dr. Kattan is one of the world’s leading consultants and innovators in the engineering of coating systems for marine structures. His career has been spent working globally with most of the world’s leading shipyards, ship owners and offshore asset owners, chemical and coating manufacturers, mega yacht builders and owners, R&D and Government organisations as well as classification societies, insurance markets, investors and the UK and US Navies.
In 1998 he started the specialist consultancy Safinah Ltd. recognised today as a world leader in the provision of the full range of coating related technical expertise and expert witness services to the global market. Safinah team members can be found working globally for many multi-national companies.
He continues to support clients with novel/disruptive technology solutions and provide training and support to the next generation of coating engineers.
“It is an incredible accolade for Raouf to receive but nothing less than what is deserved, the whole Safinah team is incredibly proud. Raouf had the vision for the need to satisfy high end independent and credible technical advice in the coatings sectors for clients across the value chain, and with the support of many colleagues and satisfied clients built the brand that Safinah is today.
For me, this is recognition for his role as mentor and coach to so many people over the years including the many students he lectured at the University of Newcastle, the careers he supported and developed at Safinah and many more young and emerging talent that he has guided on their journeys.” – Andy Hopkinson, Managing Director at Safinah Group.
Dr. Kattan is a member of the Karate Union of Great Britain (KUGB) who also enjoys leisure cycling and reading.
