PT Berlian Laju Tankers Creates Consolidated Chemical Unit

Jack Noonan (pictured) to head new BLT Chembulk Group PT Berlian Laju Tanker Tbk of Jakarta Indonesia today announced the formation of the BLT Chembulk Group, (“the Group”) which consolidates the commercial management of BLT’s four chemical tanker business units. In addition to BLT’s chemical tanker fleet, the units include PT Banyu Laju Shipping, Gold Bridge Shipping and Chembulk Tankers. The Group will be responsible for the commercial activities of more than 60 chemical tankers, with additional fleet expansion forthcoming. Gas tankers, oil tankers, offshore vessels and the domestic Indonesian chemical tanker trade are not part of the Group. Jack Noonan, currently President of Chembulk Tankers, has been appointed CEO and will report to the Group Board of Directors in Jakarta. “The main purpose of this consolidation is twofold,” stated Noonan. “First, to provide our business partners with the highest level of service through optimization across the entire chemical tanker fleet. Secondly, to maximize value for the PT Berlian Laju Tanker shareholders.” BLT Chembulk Group is comprised of two divisions: BLT Chembulk Global and BLT Chembulk Asia. BLT Global, headed by Deputy CEO Dan Dahlgard, is further delineated geographically: Deep-Sea West (under the direction of Dave Beun and including the commercial activities of the Group’s offices in Brazil and Europe), and Deep-Sea East (under the direction of Ashok Hotu Tekani who also has authority for the commercial activities of the Dubai office including Middle East-Gulf business). BLT Chembulk Asia is headed by Dennis Seow based in Singapore, who has overall responsibility for vessels trading intra-regionally from the Suez Canal to the Pacific Rim, as well as the commercial activities of the offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Bangkok. Furthermore, Dennis will be in charge of business development within Asia for the entire Group. As a consolidated commercial management organization, the BLT Chembulk Group is responsible for the marketing of a unified fleet. However, the ownership structure and technical management aspects of the respective chemical tanker fleets will not be incorporated into the organization, but instead will remain intact as separate individual entities. Nevertheless, in order to fulfill its ongoing and long-term goal of unified standards for all of the Group’s assets, Tom Murray has been appointed the Group’s Fleet Management Liaison. In this role he will serve as an interface - a single point of contact - between the Group and the individual technical ship managers. Tom, a licensed Chief Engineer, is currently Fleet Manager for Chembulk Tankers, a position he will retain in tandem. It has been three years since BLT acquired Chembulk Tankers, the most recent addition to its chemical tanker business portfolio. “Although BLT management has always recognized the value of the underlying brands, it was time to combine the commercial activities into a single cohesive organization,” said Noonan. “The marketplace knows that we are all BLT owned entities, but we believe that as a single united marketing company we can provide better service to our customers by being more than the sum of our parts.”