The man in charge of newbuildings and technical management at Hong Kong's Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) has jumped ship to Taiwan.
James SC Tai has replaced retiring Steve Hong as president of Taipei-based capesize owner Chinese Maritime Transport (CMT). Tai's LinkedIn profile still lists him as general manager at OOCL.
His responsibilities there as head of fleet management included OOCL's newbuilding programme as well as oversight of technical management.
Tai, 61, is a Taiwan native. He holds degrees in naval architecture from both the National Taiwan Ocean University and the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. He is a veteran of more than 20 years at OOCL but has worked at CMT before.
The move from Hong Kong to Taiwan comes during an ongoing transition at formerly Tung-family controlled OOCL to ownership by mainland state-owned giant China Cosco Shipping and its minority partner, Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG). The acquisition closed last year but international regulatory approvals and corporate reintegration continue.
The ownership change has been accompanied by a transition at top management levels, with Cosco cadres being shifted in from the mainland to replace or work in parallel positions with veterans of OOCL and holding group Orient Overseas (International) Ltd (OOIL). China Cosco Shipping chairman Xu Lirong serves as chairman of both OOIL and OOCL.
CMT owns 10 capesizes and the scope of newbuilding activities there are hard to compare with those of OOCL, which has an owned fleet of more than 50 ships, including six ultra large containerships of over 21,000 teu, and is rumoured to be considering another similar order.
CMT’s two oldest vessels were built in 2005 and 2006, and, based on the period charter-orientated conservative tonnage supplier’s fleet history, it could be expected to renew with newbuilding orders before long.
Family history
Both OOCL and CMT are offshoots of the Tung family shipping empire.
Former CMT chairman John Yin-Kang Peng, father of current chairman William Shih-Hsiao Peng, is brother in law of immediate former OOCL chairman Tung Chee-chen (CC Tung) and also former OOCL chairman Tung Chee-hwa (CH Tung).
CH Tung, better known as a politician, left the helm of the family company to become the first chief executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Tai could not be reached immediately for comment and CMT officials were unwilling to comment on the move, which is considered sensitive for OOCL.
