Newcastlemax owner Himalaya Shipping has made some staff changes following the resignation of its chief financial officer that will see oversight of its financial affairs moved from Oslo to London.
Vidar Hasund resigned as Himalaya’s contracted CFO on Saturday but will continue in the same role at 2020 Bulkers, which has a management agreement in place with Himalaya.
Hasund will still be available as an advisor to Himalaya’s board and the management team, a release said on Monday.
Himalaya CEO Herman Billung, who is also CEO of 2020 Bulkers, will step in as CFO of Himalaya in the meantime.
Meanwhile, Himalaya has moved the roles of chief accounting officer and financial controller to London.
Alfi Lao, who joined Himalaya as chief accounting officer in April, is based in the English capital.
She has more than 10 years accounting experience in shipping and has worked in accounting roles at Golar LNG Limited and Golar LNG since 2012.
Before that, she worked at Ernst & Young in London for six years and at KPMG Philippines from 2002 to 2006.
Lao is a certified public accountant and has a degree in accountancy from the University of San Carlos.
Magni Partners, owned by Tor Olav Troim, has been the key backer of both Himalaya and 2020 Bulkers and has its office in London.
Troim’s investment vehicle Drew Holdings Ltd owns around 33% of Himalaya following the company’s IPO in New York in March.
In early June, Himalaya fixed two more of its dual-fuel newcastlemax newbuildings on term deals to a “substantial and reputable counterparty” at what it said is its best-ever rate.
This means the company has now chartered out nine of its 12 newbuildings, which are being built at China’s New Times Shipbuilding and can burn both LNG and conventional marine fuels.
Three of the vessels have delivered from the shipyard already and the remaining six vessels are expected to be delivered by the end of the third quarter in 2024.
Himalaya ultimately aims to replicate 2020 Bulkers’ successful formula of distributing monthly dividends to its investors, Billung told TradeWinds earlier this year.
