Taiwan’s Yang Ming Marine Transport has a new chairman.
Professor Feng-Ming Tsai will take up the role at the liner giant with immediate effect, replacing former Citi economist and ex-deputy minister of the National Development Council Cheng-Mount Cheng.
The former politician took the helm of Yang Ming in 2020 when shipping veteran Bronson Hsieh retired at the age of 69.
Yang Ming did not disclose why Cheng has stepped down but said Tsai has received approval from board members to assume the position based on his extensive academic background and contributions to the maritime transport industry.
Tsai, 48, is reportedly the youngest person to hold a chairmanship in Yang Ming’s history.
He was previously an independent director in audit, compensation and risk management committees at Yang Ming. His tenure was originally scheduled from May this year to May 2027, but he resigned from the position two weeks ago, citing personal reasons.
Tsai holds a PhD in transport from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, was an assistant professor in the department of logistics management at the National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, and was a professor in ocean tourism management and in the department of shipping and transport management at National Taiwan Ocean University (NTOU).
Tsai has served as the director of the internationalised information and planning division in NTOU’s Office of International Affairs and has been chairman of the department of shipping and transport management at NTOU since 2022.
He was Taiwan’s representative of the APEC Maritime Experts Group, has carried out research in transport management, logistics management and intelligent transport systems and has made significant contributions to maritime education in Taiwan.
“Chairman Tsai’s research contributions in developing a container-demand forecasting model for container-shipping companies, constructing a vessel position information platform, formulating cross-strait direct shipping policies and innovating in cloud service applications have provided valuable insights into industry trends and advice for public policy,” Yang Ming said.
“His long-term research in transportation and logistics will be instrumental in guiding Yang Ming through the challenges of stricter competition laws, the impacts of climate change and the trials posed by digital and AI transformation in the shipping industry.”
Yang Ming is the 10th-largest liner operator by fleet size, having been overtaken by more aggressive rivals.
It has 707,000 teu of boxship capacity, or 2.4% of the world’s container fleet, and deploys 94 ships, according to Alphaliner.
