New Management News

Dr. Kishore Rajvanshy is stepping down after three decades as managing director of Fleet Management Limited (FLEET), currently the world’s largest third-party ship management company.FLEET announced it has begun implementing a phased succession plan as Rajvanshy transitions from his current role, with a global search for a new managing director underway.As part of this transition, Angad Banga, the chief operating officer of FLEET’s parent company, The Caravel Group, will co-lead FLEET with Rajvanshy – where Rajvanshy will continue to manage the technical…

German shipping company Neu Seeschiffahrt has inked a deal to install Yara Marine Technologies' (YMT) propulsion optimization technology across its fleet of six very large ore carriers (VLOC) and two recently acquired Newcastlemax vessels in 2024.YMT's FuelOpt system reduces fuel consumption and associated emissions by automatically adapting the vessel’s propulsive power to real-time environmental conditions. YMT says the system is available for newbuilds or retrofit, and is compatible with any type of propeller or engine as well as all existing and future fuels.

Russia's leading tanker group Sovcomflot has transferred dozens of ships into a new Dubai based management company aiming to boost trade through this entity amid growing pressure from financial restrictions, according to maritime industry data and shipping industry sources.State-owned Sovcomflot (SCF) is subject to sanctions and other restrictions by the UK and the European Union, while Washington has restricted its financial activities. Sovcomflot - whose fleet in the region of 80 vessels including crude, oil products and liquefied natural gas tankers - has had to deal with these capital restrictions over the past year. It has also had to rebase its overseas operations from Cyprus to Dubai.Since July…

UK-based Submarine Manufacturing and Products (SMP) will provide its new submarine rescue system (SRS) to the Indonesian Navy.The SRS will be hosted on a mothership designed by independent design and engineering consultancy Houlder and delivered by its Indonesian strategic partner, BTI Defence.The three-year build contract will include the UK design and manufacture of the SRS, centered around SMP's new SRV-F Mk3 rescue submersible. The custom build of the mothership will take place in region…

Marine energy provider KPI OceanConnect has announced a new management structure and key regional appointments to support the delivery of its partnership approach for customers.The new structure will see the leadership of its trading business divided into regions covering APAC, EMEA, and Americas. New regional leads have been promoted from KPI OceanConnect’s existing management team. Thomas Lee is promoted to Head of APAC, and James Enston to Head of EMEA.Brian Coyne will continue in his current role as Head of Americas.

Venezuela's PDVSA has allocated an oil cargo to a unit of Eni for a February loading, the first to the Italian firm following a contract suspension this year by new management at the state-run company, people familiar with the matter said. Eni and Spanish oil firm Repsol in May last year received authorizations from the U.S. State Department to take the crude to Europe for outstanding Venezuela debt and dividends, an exception to U.S. oil sanctions on Venezuela. The cargo allocations…

The global offshore wind industry is staring down a potential shortage of foundation installation vessel capacity. A new UK company led by former offshore drilling executive Jon Oliver Bryce intends to help tackle this challenge as the industry’s first pure-play foundation installation vessel (FIV) firm.The number of planned offshore wind projects globally is growing, spurred by green targets and a shift away from Russian oil and gas. This growth, alongside a shift toward the next generation of larger offshore wind turbines…

Finnish fuel and auxiliary systems company Auramarine Ltd announced it has appointed Henri Räty as director of engineering and products, based in Lieto, Finland. As a shipbuilding engineer with extensive experience in project management and technical engineering in the maritime industry, Räty will play an instrumental role in the design management and strategic oversight of Auramarine’s range of fuel supply systems and solutions for both conventional and alternative fuels. Räty joins Auramarine from Meyer Turku…

Norway;s Aibel has announced a pair of leadership appointments at its yard in Haugesund.The company said Friday that Lars Inge Hellestveit will take up the role of vice president of yard operations, joined by Hans Jørgen Alfsen as the yard's new fabrication manager. Both will enter the new roles with immediate effect.Hellestveit comes from the position as project manager for the upgrade of the Njord Bravo floating storage unit (FSU), while Alfsen has been construction manager on the second processing platform for Johan Sverdrup…

Effective November 1, 2021, Jeroen Heesters will be the new Managing Director of Damen Shiprepair & Conversion, one of the seven divisions of the Damen Shipyards Group. With Finance Director Eric Snoeren, who joined the division on 1 October, he will make up the management team.After graduating in mechanical engineering, Heesters worked in the oil and gas industry. In 2008, he moved to Damen Shipyards Group, where he worked for Damen Shiprepair Rotterdam and Damen Shiprepair Vlissingen, among others.

Golar LNG announced on Thursday it has appointed appointed Karl Fredrik Staubo as CEO, filling the void left by prior chief executive Iain Ross, who stepped down in April.Staubo has since May 2020 been the chief executive officer of Golar LNG Partners LP, recently sold to New Fortress Energy. Since September 2020 Staubo has also been acting as Golar's chief financial officer.Staubo's broad shipping/energy background includes time with Clarksons Platou Securities (2010-2018) and Magni Partners (2018-2020). He has a MA (Business Studies and Economics) from the University of Edinburgh.Golar has also appointed Eduardo Maranhao to take over Staubo's role as CFO.

ASRY (Arab Shipbuilding & Repair Yard) signed a representation agreement with AMS to exclusively market ASRY’s products, services and facilities to the Singapore and Hong Kong shipping market, part of ASRY’s new management’s strategic re-alignment of its international agent’s network following the takeover of the National Oil and Gas Authority in the Kingdom of Bahrain (NOGA) of Bahrain’s shares in the company last year.AMS has a network of four offices in Asia.

Miika Reinikka has been selected as the next CEO of Yaskawa Environmental Energy / The Switch to take over the role from Jukka-Pekka Mäkinen, current CEO and founder, from July 1, 2020.Reinikka has worked at The Switch for more than 10 years, and his career has taken him through various director and VP-level positions in telecommunications businesses, one of which was the Finnish stock listed company Tecnomen. He then went on to explore new opportunities and found The Switch, where he began his new professional path as a Key Account Manager for several European customers.

Effective January 1, 2020, Dennis Lenthe Olesen, currently Global Head of Operations at APM Terminals, will assume the role of Managing Director for APM Terminals Nordics.This joint management structure will enable APM Terminals Aarhus and Gothenburg to strengthen collaboration and unlock operational synergies. The terminals will remain separate legal entities in Denmark and Sweden.“I am pleased to announce Dennis in this new and exciting role, as we embark on an important journey of unlocking further synergies between our two terminals and strengthening collaboration in the Nordics area”, comments Igor Van Den Essen, head of Terminals Europe at APM Terminals.“Aarhus and Gothenburg will become stronger and more competitive together…

Netherlands' short sea shipping firm JR Shipping has expanded its container feeder fleet by purchasing a vessel and entering into a new management contract.According to a press note from the Harlingen-based shipowner and manager, the two vessels were transferred to the shipping company. They will be registered under the flag of Madeira and sail under the names MV Expert and MV Energy. Confeeder Shipping & Chartering is responsible for the commercial management.The new management contract concerns MV Expert. She is an 800 TEU short-sea feeder and was built by Damen Shipyard Group in 2011. This vessel is specifically equipped for 45-feet containers and…

Following the friendly takeover bid for CEVA Logistics, the CMA CGM Group has implemented a turnaround plan which includes a new governance, a new brand identity and priorities reset. CEVA’s new operations center opened in Marseilles.The CMA CGM Group now holds 99.6% of CEVA's equity. Structural decisions have been made during the second quarter of 2019 to enable CEVA’s financial recovery and create the conditions of a solid and successful turnaround.Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group, was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of CEVA Logistics at the Annual General Shareholders Meeting held on 29 April 2019.A new, stronger governance structure has been put in place.

Traffic flows between the Belgian port of Antwerp and the hinterland market in Hungary and Austria are increasing continuously. In order to meet the growing demand, the Antwerp Port Authority is promoting the expansion of hinterland connections, especially by rail.Two regular rail connections to Hungary have been established since 2015 and rail services to Austria have been expanded from one to currently three.At a port event held near Vienna on 27 September, leading representatives of the Antwerp port industry provided information on the further development of these transports with Austria and Hungary. 200 guests from both countries followed the invitation of the Antwerp Port Authority.Hungary and Austria are an attractive but highly competitive market for the northern…

Workers at Croatia's largest shipbuilding group Uljanik, who have been on strike for more than a week, began receiving their delayed July salaries on Friday and are set to return to work on Monday.Union leaders and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, whose government struck a deal with a local bank, confirmed the payments for some 4,500 workers at the docks, located in the northern Adriatic cities of Pula and Rijeka.Last Monday the workers protested in Zagreb demanding the government's help.Despite the funds secured for July and August salaries…

Some 4,500 workers at Croatia's largest shipbuilding group Uljanik went on strike on Wednesday and called for management to step down in protest over late payment."The management has lost credibility in our eyes, the workers and suppliers have lost confidence," one union leader, Marina Cvitic, said.Uljanik controls two docks in the northern Adriatic, in the cities of Pula and Rijeka.The workers control less than 50 percent of the company, with the state also a minority shareholder.

The Great Lakes Group announced recent new hires to the company’s management team: Thomas Rigolo – Shipyard General Manager; Kirsten Buccigrossi – Director, Marketing & Communications; and Emery Eiber – Quality, Health, Safety, Security, and Environment (QHSSE) Manager.Tom Rigolo is a senior shipbuilding executive with more than 25 years of experience gained from hands-on engineering and high-level leadership roles at several U.S. shipyards. Rigolo is a licensed Professional Engineer…

Independent wind asset operations management specialist OutSmart BV has selected Kongsberg Digital AS to provide an integrated management system on the innovative Kognifai digital platform and ecosystem. The sophisticated digital solution will be used to manage OutSmart’s extensive onshore and offshore wind turbine portfolio. OutSmart provides services to wind farm owners, fund managers, and wind project companies in Northwestern Europe to maximize the revenues of their wind assets. Part of Deutsche Windtechnik Offshore and Consulting GmbH, OutSmart currently operates more than 400 onshore and offshore wind and solar assets (1.8 GW in total) in Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK.

Dubai-based Gulf Navigation Holding’s board has approved the trading of rights issued in February 2018 to the company’s existing shareholders, without publicly offering the remaining shares. The company's capital now stands at AED 919,209,250. (USD 250,254,718) The move is in line with the company’s interim strategy to expand its services and gradually increase the size of its fleet to keep up with upcoming contracts and expansion projects, considering its future expansion plans. Gulf Navigation Holding announced a maximum of AED 488 million (USD 133 mln) in capital increase through trading of the rights issue from 11 February to 1 March 2018 with a total value of AED 367,542,584.

The Piraeus Port Authority S.A. (PPA) 2017 financial report revealed profits before tax amounted to €21.2 million ($26.19 mln) compared to €11.0 million ($13.59 mln) in the year 2016, showing an increase of 92 percent. Turnover amounted to €111.5 million compared to €103.5 million in the corresponding period of 2016, showing an increase of 7.7 percent. The operations at the container terminal showed significant increase in revenue by € 7million (53.1 percent), where container throughput increased by 70.6 percent, meaning 453.264 TEU compared to 265.716 TEU in 2016, while the income from the concession fee of the Pier II and Pier III increased approximately by €3.4 million (8.4 percent).