Peter Kitching, former chairman of shipbroker Simpson Spence Young, has died today aged 80.
SSY said it was announcing Kitching's death with "great sadness" and said he was "a much-loved member of the team for 45 years."
Sending condolences to Kitching's family, Mark Richardson, SSY's current chairman said: “Peter’ s leadership, wisdom and passion helped steer us through the many ups and downs of the shipping market, and as a highly regarded shipbroker and former chairman of the Baltic Exchange, he will be sorely missed by his many friends and former colleagues throughout the industry and across the world."
Kitching was a well-known face in the shipping industry where his peers said he was a highly successful newbuilding broker.
He could appear reserved but had an underlying calm and confident manner in his business dealings.
John Welham, who succeeded him as chairman at SSY, remembers Kitching as "his mentor" and described his former boss as "a super super chap."
Kitching served as chairman of SSY from 1992 until the end of 2001, joining the brokerage as an office junior in 1956 and working his way up to the top job.
In 1988 he moved to Hong Kong to lead the company's office there for four years.
SSY said: "Shipbroking and Simpson Spence Young was very much a family enterprise with Peter’ s father, Horace, and son, James, being employed by the firm over the years."
Kitching also served as chairman of the Baltic Exchange from 2000-2003, retiring at the end of his term there.
