He will hand over the reins to deputy Norbert Aschmann in a “planned succession” at the end of December.

Bajpaee will then become non-executive chairman.

He said: “Having worked in the industry for over 40 years and seen first-hand the evolution of third party shipmanagement from a fledgling business into the professional, highly respected industry that it is today, it is the appropriate time for me to take on a supporting role.

“Based