Shipbroking group SSY is opening a new office in Osaka, Japan, that will be headed up by Naoki Tamura, who returns to the broker after six years.
Tamura began his shipbroking career at SSY but left in 2018 to join Maersk Broker, where he was head of Osaka and senior director.
He said he was “delighted and excited” to be returning to the group.
“Having closely followed the firm’s development, I am genuinely amazed at how SSY has continued to consistently grow over the years while strengthening its core collaborative culture as a global broking group,” he said in a release on Wednesday.
SSY said Tamura has achieved “significant success” in developing long-term project business with Japanese owners in the western regions.
“I’m confident that we can bring more opportunities to the local Japanese shipping community from our new Osaka base, thereby extending our reach even further,” Tamura added.
SSY has been on a mission to build up its presence in Japan and broaden its activities there, particularly in project business.
Last year, a team of three brokers led by partner Eugene Quek moved from SSY’s Singapore projects desk to Tokyo to expand the office there.
SSY established its base in the Japanese capital 16 years ago, principally for dry spot market fixtures.
Quek said of Tamura’s appointment: “Establishing an office in Osaka is a logical next step for us to strengthen our local physical presence within Japan’s maritime clusters.
“I’m a strong believer that actions speak louder than words, so I hope taking this step underscores our unwavering commitment to our clients, reaffirming that SSY is here to stay,” he continued.
SSY has been on ambitious expansion since managing partner Stanko Jekov took the top job in January 2023 through new hires and service offerings, most notably entering the offshore sector through acquisitions.
This year to date, SSY has expanded its ship finance offering in Asia with hires of well-known names including former banker Ali Susanto in Singapore and Terry Chen in Shanghai.
Derivatives have also been a focus area this year. In April, Phoebus Kaloudis joined as head of business development for SSY Futures.
