Martin Ackermann has decided to step down as CEO of BW LPG Limited at the end of this year for family reasons, after five years leading the company from Singapore, the LPG owner and operator said.
Anders Onarheim, a non-executive director of BW LPG since 2013 and former Managing Director of Carnegie, will act as interim CEO of BW LPG.
“It has been a privilege to lead BW LPG through some challenging years and to see it continue as a strong platform for the future, ” Ackermann said.
Ackermann has over 10 years of international management experience within the maritime industry. Prior to BW LPG, he was Chief Executive Officer of Evergas A/S and Managing Director of Eitzen Gas and B-Gas.
He leaves the company after BWLPG reported its highest ever quarterly net profit of USD 117 million, underpinned by outstanding commercial performance and a strong VLGC freight market. Fleetwide VLGC TCE freight rates averaged USD 48,100 per day, BWLPG said in its quarterly report issued in November.
The strength of VLGC freight rates was assigned mainly to the overall strong US LPG exports and high geographical LPG price spreads.
Moving forward, the company is bullish on the market outlook amid the expectation of high US exports supporting VLGC fleet utilization.