Well-known tanker shipbroker to head Baltic Exchange

Denis Petropoulos has been elected chairman of the Baltic Exchange Council with effect from 1 June 2019.

He replaces Duncan Dunn who has held the position since January 2018.

Mr Petropoulos was a founding partner of Braemar Tankers Ltd and remains a significant shareholder at Braemar Shipping Services PLC. He most recently headed up Braemar's Singapore office for seven years, before returning to the UK.

He has been a Baltic Exchange member since 1999, has held positions on the Baltic board 2002-2007 and joined the Council in January 2019.

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Commenting on the appointment, Baltic Exchange chief executive Mark Jackson said "Denis Petropoulos is a highly respected and well-known shipbroker who played a critical role in setting up the Baltic tanker indices in the late 1990s. We're delighted that he will be dedicating his time to chairing the Baltic Council. The Baltic Council is a key body which gives voice to our membership and ensures that our products and services meet their needs."

He added "I would like to thank Duncan Dunn for his support and insight during his term of office."

Mr Petropoulos said "I have always been a passionate supporter of the Baltic Exchange and its values. During my term in office I intend to pay particular attention to raising awareness of the maritime industry to the younger generation. At the same time, I want to ensure that Baltic members' ideas and concerns are heard at Council level as well as support the Baltic's drive to increase its profile in Asia."

The Baltic Exchange Council is the governing body which oversees the Baltic, including its Membership Committee, in relation to the Baltic Exchange's strategy for membership services, social responsibility and relationships with its members, governments, regulatory bodies and the global shipping community.

Mr Petropoulos has worked in competitive shipbroking for 40 years. He presently sits on Intertanko's Associate Members' Committee and is a non-executive director of TEN, a New York Stock Exchange-listed tanker company.

Mr Petropoulos left H Clarksons in 1985 to open Braemar Tankers, which by 2001, had evolved into a publicly listed company where he sat on the board.

In 2011 he opened the group's shipbroking office in Singapore and remained there until 2017 heading up the corporation's expanding operations in Asia and Australia.

He came off the PLC board in 2015 and is now based in London.

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