Nystad, a 35 year company veteran, will step down today with a process underway to find his replacement.
Tore Jakobsen, chief executive of Odfjell, is unwilling to reveal further details of the departure, citing a confidentiality contract between Nystad and the Oslo-listed company.
However, Jakobsen stresses Odjfell Tankers will remain the core business of the group following today’s development.
The shipowner has over 40 owned vessels and a chartered fleet of almost equal size, with the tanker division accounting for 70% of the assets on its balance sheet.
Jakobsen says it has yet to be decided if an internal of external candidate will fill the void, and would not speculate on any links between Nystad’s departure and the pending arrival of Kristian Morch as chief executive.
The former Clipper executive has been drafted in as the permanent replacement for Jan Hammer, who left last December after years of heavy financial losses.
In an effort to turn around its fortunes, Odfjell has cut staff and is seeking to strip out costs of $100m per year.
Nystad has headed Odjfell Tankers for the past five years.
