Chris Jones, former head of Asia for the Baltic Exchange, has called off his retirement and joined the Singapore office of Holman Fenwick Willan (HFW) as a consultant in its shipping practice.

His first day with the law firm was on Thursday. He will be ­assisting a specialist team of 10 lawyers, including three partners and two master mariners.

“Since I retired in February, I have really missed the shipping industry — a little to my surprise, as I had been eagerly anticipating frequent holidays and regular rounds of golf,” Jones said.

“I am, therefore, truly delighted to begin working with such a prestigious firm as HFW. I am very much looking forward to continuing to play a part in this fascinating sector that has been such a large part of my life for so long.”

The Welshman moved to Asia in 1982 and held senior partnership positions in large broking houses such as Simpson Spence Young and Island Shipbrokers. His final shipping role was overseeing the Baltic Exchange’s Asian expansion from 2014 to 2019, after which he said he was heading off into a well-deserved retirement after almost 50 years in the business.

His LinkedIn profile still describes him as “semi retired from shipping ... Looking for something to keep me involved for a few days a week?”

HFW wants to tap into Jones’ wealth of experience, said Toby Stephens, head of shipping and head of admiralty and crisis management for Asia-Pacific.

“Our Singapore office handles, on average, 200 to 250 ship closings a year. Chris’ experience will further strengthen our dedicat­­­ed offering in this space,” Stephens added. “His expertise on past and current freight rates, and his ­ability to undertake valuation work, will also prove valuable to our client base.”

HFW’s global shipping group has 62 partners and more than 190 lawyers across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.