Capt. Dr. Kris De Baere (°1958) started as a student at the Antwerp Maritime Academy in 1977 and obtained an academic master in Nautical Sciences in 1988 and his master mariners license f.g. in 1990. After 15 years at sea, mainly on board oil and chemical tankers, he returned to the AMA, as a lecturer, to pass on his love for the sea, mixed with a lot of knowledge and experience. In 1993 (till 2015) he became the dean of the faculty of Nautical Sciences. In 2007 he started together with Dr. Verstraelen and Dr. Potters the corrosion research group AMACORT (Antwerp Maritime Academy Corrosion Research Team) and in 2011 his research work has been awarded with a PhD - In situ study of the significant parameters governing corrosion in ballast tanks on board merchant vessels. For further info on research and publications see https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3461-3521.

When he is not lecturing, climbing up and down ballast tanks, attending meetings or writing articles he becomes enchanted by antique maritime memorabilia and tries to bring together the most exciting collection in the world (at least).