David Thompson’s background is in business and chemistry, not shipping. But he helped usher in a new seaborne trade for gas carriers.
As the head of Ineos’ shipping and trading since 2014, Thompson has led efforts at the chemical manufacturer to export ethane from the US to Europe. Those travails first bore fruit a year ago after the first ethane cargo onboard the 27,500-cbm JS Ineos Intrepid (built 2015) departed the US for the Ineos-owned Rafnes chemical plant in Norway.
