Dr Knapp is a self-motivated, innovative and strategic thinking maritime professional with a unique background spanning across industry and academia. She has worked 10 years in the cruise industry before expanding into the commercial shipping industry and working for governments and international organizations at the national (Australian Maritime Safety Authority), supranational (European Maritime Safety Agency) and international level (International Maritime Organization – United Nations) in Europe, the USA and Australia.

Ms Knapp is affiliated with the Econometric Institute of Erasmus University in Rotterdam (NL) and the Centre for Marine and Environmental Research (CIMA) of the University of Algarve and has 30 publications collaborating with various researchers. In 2015, she founded Seven Ocean Research Pty Ltd and works as independent consultant – mainly for AMSA. She also evaluates research proposals for the European Union (Horizon Europe, the European Innovation Council – Accelerator, the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund -EMFAF.

Her key skills include bridging science with policy making using a transparent process, project leadership (Prince 2 Practitioner, Change Management-Foundation level), knowledge management audits and assessments, quantitative analysis and research. She has developed and implemented over 50 different risk models covering detention, deficiencies and incident types including different degrees of seriousness and runs a weekly risk profiling routine of the world fleet using her software (SOMRS).