Who’s Who: Maritime Movements for January/February 2025
WORK BOAT WORLD:
Auckland, New Zealand-based marine technology company Vessev has appointed marine industry expert John Scott as Chairman of the Board.
Scott was previously CEO at self-service payment technology company Invenco and prior to that had spent 14 years at Navico in executive positions. During his time at Navico, he played a key role in the acquisition of the Navico Group by Brunswick Corporation in 2021.
Subsea technologies and engineering specialist the Unique Group has appointed Fraser Moonie as its Global Commercial and Strategy Development Director – Survey Equipment. He will play a key role in leading and executing the strategic commercial initiatives for the Survey Equipment division across the Unique Group’s global locations.
Fraser brings with him a wealth of experience in the offshore, subsea, and survey equipment industry, having held senior leadership roles at Bibby Offshore, McDermott, Mermaid Subsea Services, and most recently at Rovco. He has an extensive background in ROVs, vessels, survey equipment, and subsea technology.
In this role, he will be based in the UK while travelling extensively to the Unique Group’s local offices to engage with clients, partners, and internal teams.
Derek Murphy has been promoted to Vice President of New Construction Aircraft Carriers at Huntington Ingalls Industries' (HII) Newport News Shipbuilding division.
In his new role, Murphy will have responsibility for all new construction aircraft carriers in production at the shipyard, including the future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79), USS Enterprise (CVN 80) and USS Doris Miller (CVN 81).
Starting his career with the company in 2002, prior to the HII spin-off from Northrop Grumman, Murphy served as an aviation program manager as part of the EA-6B and EA-18G programs. In 2007, he joined the Ingalls Shipbuilding division, where he held positions of increasing responsibility supporting the Mississippi shipyard’s portfolio.
In 2020, he joined the Newport News Shipbuilding division, where he has served as program director on John F. Kennedy (CVN 79), responsible for all aspects of construction.
Murphy is a US Navy veteran with 20 years of operational experience as a naval flight officer qualified on carrier-based attack and electronic warfare aircraft. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Villanova University and an MBA from Eastern Michigan University.
SEA Europe, the industry association representing European shipyards and maritime equipment manufacturers, has elected Vard Chairman Alberto Maestrini as its new Chairman.
Maestrini was CEO of Vard from 2020 to June 2024, when he was succeeded by current CEO Cathrine Kristiseter Marti.
Prior to working with Vard, he was with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri. His positions there included Senior Executive Vice President of the Naval Vessels Business Unit, Deputy General Manager, and General Manager.
Maestrini graduated from the University of Genoa with a degree in Electronic Engineering in 1983.
Santeri Laakso has been appointed as the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and a member of the Executive Committee of Finnlines as of March 1, 2025. In his new role, he will report to Thomas Doepel, President and CEO of Finnlines.
Laakso is currently responsible for Finnlines finance department as a Head of Group Finance. He has extensive experience in Finnlines’ business, and in-depth knowledge of financial management.
Laakso has been working at Finnlines since 2002.
Lloyd’s Register (LR) has announced the appointment of Jim Smith as its new Strategic Business Partner and Senior Representative for LR in Japan.
In his new role, he will leverage his extensive experience and expertise to foster mutual growth and economic success for LR and its clients. He will also represent LR externally within Japan, working closely with clients to deliver tailored solutions that meet their business needs.
Smith's career with LR spans nearly three decades, beginning in 1995. For over 20 years, he has held various technical and managerial roles across multiple countries in Asia, including Japan.
From 2015 to 2018, he served as Regional Director for North Asia. Most recently, he was Global Classification Manager from 2018 to 2023 and In-Service Product Manager from 2023 to 2024.
Hiromitsu Kikuchi has meanwhile been appointed to the position of Deputy Senior Representative for LR in Japan. Kikuchi will focus on enhancing business relationships within Japan, especially with shipyards, shipowners, managers, and equipment producers.
Kikuchi has been with LR since 2006, starting as a field surveyor in Yokohama and Nagasaki. From 2018 to 2023, he served as an Account Manager for Japanese clients, and since 2023 he has held the position of Commercial Manager and Deputy Senior Representative for Japan.
Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company has announced Dana Armstrong has been elected to its board of directors. Her election as a new independent director was effective January 5, 2025, and increases the number of board members to seven.
Since 2020, Armstrong has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Excelerate Energy, a provider of floating storage and regasification units and downstream LNG infrastructure.
Previously, she served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Scientific Drilling International, a global energy services provider and manufacturer specialising in high accuracy wellbore placement and drilling solutions, from 2015 to 2020.
Prior to that, she held several financial positions from 2007 to 2015, at Ion Geophysical Corporation, which at the time was a publicly traded provider of geophysical technology, services, and solutions to the global oil and gas industry, including Vice President and Global Treasurer.
Armstrong holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and Master’s Degree in Finance from the University of Houston, C.T. Bauer College of Business. She is also a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the State of Texas.
The Birdon Group has announced that Tony Ardito has joined the company as the new President of Birdon America.
Ardito brings over two decades of maritime industry experience to Birdon, including an extensive background in naval architecture and marine engineering. He has also held key leadership positions at BAE Systems and Austal USA.
Ardito will play a critical role for Birdon as the company continues to expand its programs and presence in the United States, including serving as the lead for the US Coast Guard Waterways Commerce Cutter (WCC) program.
SHIP WORLD:
Niklas Blomqvist, formerly Environment and Quality Manager at Wallenius Marine, has been appointed Head of Wallenius Marine Singapore and Global Commercial Manager.
In his new role, he is based in Singapore. By placing the role of Global Commercial Manager in Singapore, Wallenius Marine strengthens its market focus on the Asian region.
Blomqvist takes on two new roles, succeeding Swee Aun Lim as Head of Wallenius Marine Singapore and Göran Söderdahl as Global Commercial Manager.
Norwegian dry bulk shipping company the Golden Ocean Group has appointed Tonesan Amissah as Director of the Company.
Amissah is a Barrister and Attorney-at-Law with over 30 years of experience in international corporate law. She is currently a Client Director at Ocorian Services, a Bermuda-based global fiduciary and corporate services company where she oversees all aspects of client service.
Amissah is a former partner of Appleby (Bermuda), where she led the funds and investment services team and was a senior member of the firm’s corporate department, having joined Appleby in 1989. She also serves as a director of companies in the insurance space.
Amissah holds a law degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She qualified as a Barrister at the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn in London in 1988 and was later called to the Bermuda Bar in 1992.
InterManager has elected Sebastian von Hardenberg as its newest President.
Sebastian is CEO of Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) and was elected by members of InterManager’s Executive Committee during the association’s most recent Annual General Meeting in London.
An experienced negotiator, he has lobbied on behalf of InterManager members and the ship management sector during his term as Vice President and was instrumental in discussions with the European Union regarding the potential impact of EU-ETS and FuelEU on ship managers.
Von Hardenberg, a law graduate, joined the Schulte Group in 2005 and served as CFO of BSM from 2015 before being appointed CEO earlier this year. He succeeds Mark O’Neil, CEO of the Columbia Group, who served as President for the past four years.
During the same meeting, Raal Harris, Chief Creative Officer of the Ocean Technologies Group and One Ocean, was elected as Vice President of InterManager. Harris is a long-standing member of InterManager and has been an active member of the InterManager Executive Committee for the past 10 years.
The Liberian Registry has appointed Frank H. Marmol as Vice President, Technical at its Miami office, effective January 2025.
With over 30 years of experience in the international maritime industry, Marmol brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the organization. His career includes key leadership roles such as Executive Director, Chief Technical Inspector, Technical Manager, Principal and Senior Surveyor, IRCA Registered Lead Maritime Auditor, ISM, ISPS, MLC, IMSAS auditor for the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), and Marine Casualty Investigator.
As Vice President, Technical, Marmol will oversee daily operations, technical services, and client support at the Liberian Registry’s Miami office.
The Port of Los Angeles has appointed Jeffrey Strafford as its new Chief Financial Officer. He will oversee a wide range of the port’s financial affairs, including the accounting, debt and financial analysis, and financial planning and analysis divisions.
Before assuming the interim CFO role last spring, Strafford served as the port’s Director of Financial Planning and Analysis, overseeing professional staff across the division’s two sections: Financial Analysis and Budget. His duties included administering the port’s US$2.6 billion budget, improving fiscal systems, and overseeing forecasting, resource allocation and revenue optimisation, among other financial processes.
Prior to that, he was successively promoted to the port’s budget manager, a position responsible for formulating and implementing the port’s annual adopted budget.
Before joining the Port in 2011, Strafford served as the purchasing manager for the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, and as a tax compliance officer for the City of Los Angeles Office of Finance. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business management economics, with a minor in legal studies, from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
The Port of Los Angeles has meanwhile promoted Artie Mandel to Director of Government Affairs, a position overseeing the port’s collaborative efforts with governmental entities at the local, regional, state and federal levels. His duties will involve advocacy, legislative coordination, grant funding identification and coalition building, among other responsibilities.
Mandel previously served as the port’s Director of Strategic Initiatives. In his new position, he will continue to report to Avin Sharma, the port’s Senior Director of Workforce and Government Affairs.
Prior to joining the Port of Los Angeles, Mandel served as Chief of Intergovernmental and Legislative Affairs for the City of Los Angeles, where he oversaw federal, state and local government affairs and advocacy.
Originally from New Jersey, Mandel earned a bachelor’s degree in government and politics from the University of Maryland.
International maritime law firm Campbell Johnston Clark (CJC) has announced that Kate Law and Neil Jackson have become directors in the international maritime law firm with effect from January 1, 2025, bringing the number of CJC partners to 22, across offices in London, Newcastle, Singapore and Miami.
Based at the firm’s London office, Law has extensive experience in shipping litigation, particularly in "wet" shipping, including collision and salvage claims, and has also focused on charterparty and bill of lading disputes.
Having joined CJC from an international insurer, her route to company partner level started as a paralegal, progressing through her traineeship and subsequent rise to associate and then managing associate.
Law also works alongside the firm’s transactional team, advising on contractual drafting, sale and purchase, ship recycling and MOA disputes, and is a member of CJC’s regulatory advisory team.
Jackson has gained experience in a broad range of shipping disputes since joining CJC in Newcastle in 2022 from one of the largest marine insurers in the International Group of P&I Clubs. He advises owners and charterers on dry shipping law.
With primary specialism in FD&D work, his areas of focus include payment of hire, off-hire, suspension/withdrawal, liens on cargo/sub-hires/sub-freights, cancellation, speed and consumption, redelivery, condition of holds, freight, laytime and demurrage, voyage charter expenses claims, and off-specification bunkers disputes. Jackson’s appointment as a director increases the number of directors located in CJC’s Newcastle office to three.
