Lomar Shipping chief executive Achim Boehme has died.
He died peacefully on 25 July at his home in Bremen, the containership owner said. He was 56.
Boehme had for the past year waged a brave battle with cancer, supported by his wife Helke and four children, the company said.
His colleagues would miss his "immense wisdom, his charm and his ever-present dry wit", Lomar chief operating officer Nicholas Georgiou said.
"Achim’s passing leaves a massive void among all of us who knew and worked with him," he said.
"The global shipping industry has lost a great leader and innovator who still had so very much to give."
Close friend of Logothetis
Boehme came to the Lomar fold in 2009 when Lomar was completing a major expansion with the $325m purchase of the UK based Allocean fleet.
It was then that he was offered a position by George Logothetis, chairman and chief executive of parent Libra Group.
The two became close friends and talked about undertaking charitable projects outside shipping.
“It is heartbreaking that our true and great friend Achim has been taken from us so prematurely," Logothetis said.
"He was a stalwart of decency, a bastion of integrity and goodness — a true leader."
Decade at the helm
Boehme became Lomar's chief financial officer in early 2010.
He was promoted to chief executive in the same year, with responsibility for the company’s management, strategy and development.
This heralded a massive expansion into the feeder containership sector.
Boehme oversaw corporate development as general manager of Lomar Germany, splitting his time between Bremen and Lomar's London-based headquarters.
He studied law and economics and worked in a barrister’s chambers and in German shipping law firms.
He switched to ship finance after taking a senior position with Hamburgische Landesbank and Deutsche Schiffsbank.
As a banker, Boehme carried out numerous transactions, including for Lomar, and was involved in many landmark deals in international and Greek shipping.
Tragedy
Boehme gave no indication of the gravity of his illness and was working right up until the end.
Speaking to TradeWinds in June, he appeared on top of the business functions of the company.
He expressed gratitude for the support the Logothetis family had given him throughout his illness.
"The world is worse off without Achim Boehme," Logethetis said.
"A good, kind and great man lost at a time when the world needs more good, kind and great men. Maybe it is the best that leave first, for how else can one make sense of this tragedy.”
