London-based Foresight Group has appointed a senior executive from Reliance Industries as director to lead the expansion of its shipping activity.
Vijay Handa, who was the Indian conglomerate’s senior vice-president until last year, will be based in Foresight’s operating headquarters in Dubai alongside its management team.
“We have brought in an exemplary leader who will spearhead and focus on expanding our shipping business,” founder and executive chairman Ravi Mehrotra said in a press release.
Handa, who has worked in the shipping industry for more than 40 years, was responsible for Reliance’s chartering operations for crude, product and chemical tankers as well as gas carriers.
With a mega refinery designed to process 1.24m barrels of crude per day in Jamnagar, Reliance is one of the world’s largest tanker charterers.
Before joining Reliance in 2004, Handa was with Shipping Corp of India for 23 years under various capacities and mainly responsible for bulker and tanker charter operations.
The Indian citizen holds a master’s degree in shipping from the World Maritime University in Malmo, Sweden, a school founded by the International Maritime Organization. He is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers.
With his industry experience, Handa will benefit Foresight’s fleet expansion and play a pivotal role in its compressed LNG (CLNG) project, the company said.
In September, Foresight signed a deal to build CLNG vessels and terminals in the Middle East and India.
The $500m scheme involves constructing a compressed natural gas terminal and other cargo terminals at New Port Bhavnagar in Gujarat, as well as an export facility in the Middle East.
Foresight has partnered with Mumbai's family owned chemicals group Padmanabh Mafatlal Group and Dutch shipowner Royal Boskalis Westminster for the project.
Founded in 1984, Foresight also has a diversified fleet of offshore, land-based rigs and crude tankers operating for Abu Dhabi National Oil Co, Oil & Natural Gas Corp, Indian Oil and ExxonMobil.
Mehrotra has set a target of $50bn in annual revenue by its centenary in 2084.
