Wilhelmsen Ship Management has confirmed the appointment of industry veteran Roine Ahlquist as chief executive of Barber Ship Management.
The Singapore-based ship manager said his selection followed an “extensive selection process that considered both internal and external candidates”.
“With over 25 years of maritime experience, Roine held a variety of executive and senior leadership roles in shipping and real estate,” Wilhelmsen said.
Ahlquist was the owner and founder of Telegrafholmen where he raised financing for investors entering the bulk and tanker market before this appointment.
Prior to this, he was the managing director of the investment manager Tufton Asset Management where he is said to have managed a team overseeing the commercial, technical and operational management of a mixed fleet portfolio of over 90 ships.
Earlier in his career, Roine worked in managerial positions globally in Asia, Europe and the US with Eastern Pacific Shipping and Zodiac Maritime.
Ahlquist holds an MBA from London Business school (strategy and finance) and a master’s license with sailing experience from crude, product, ro-ro, ro-pax and cruise ships
Wilhelmsen revived the Barber brand at the start of this year following its acquisition of an 80% stake in Ahrenkiel Tankers for an undisclosed sum.
Wilhelmsen was originally named Barber Ship Management when it was first incorporated in Hong Kong in 1975.
The move also marked the first step since Wilhelmsen’s earlier decision to re-enter the tanker segment following a decade-long absence.
The ship manager exited the tanker market in 2009 with the sale of its former subsidiary International Tanker Management (ITM) but reversed this decision in 2020 due to an improved regulatory regime for tankers.
Barber serves as Wilhelmsen’s specialised management arm for the tanker segment with a focus on oil, product, chemical and gas tankers.
Singapore-based Wilhelmsen is one of the world's largest third-party ship managers with a portfolio of 450 vessels in management and more than 10,800 seafarers.
