As part of SEA-LNG’s governance, the board of directors is re-elected every two years. Biennially, the staff undertakes the election process outlined in the coalition’s written constitution. Having a formal governance structure underpins transparency – a tenet of SEA-LNG. Meanwhile the clear election process gives the board legitimacy and ensures that the coalition has strong representation throughout the LNG value chain.

The board of directors includes member representatives from each stakeholder sector. Each sector-specific board representative is accountable to the members in their sector. In addition to defining SEA-LNG’s strategy they ensure members are able contribute their expertise effectively to the coalition.

The board oversees all SEA-LNG working groups, such as investment, regulatory, stakeholder engagement and emissions working groups, ensuring they consider the perspectives of all stakeholders and identify knowledge gaps that need further analysis. This grounding in industry leads to research that is practical, credible and valuable to the shipping industry’s decision-makers.

To decarbonise by 2050 and meet emissions reductions targets along the way, the industry will require a basket of fuels and massive financial investment by ship owners, operators and energy suppliers. Investors and lenders need clarity to enable them to make the right decisions and drive change from today.

Objectivity is maintained in SEA-LNG research projects by commissioning institutions – such as the Maritime Energy & Sustainable Development Centre of Excellence (MESD CoE) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore, the authors of the recent Bio-LNG study, to undertake independent analysis.

The new board of directors will ensure that SEA-LNG’s transparent governance and rigorous research standards continue to be followed in 2023 and 2024. The following individuals based in three continents constitute the SEA-LNG board effective from 1^st January 2023:

• Energy: Denis Bonhomme, Total Energies and Krishna Achuthanandam, Shell
• Cruise: Tom Strang, Carnival
• Class Societies: Panagiotis Mitrou, Lloyds Register
• Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs): Frank Harteveld, Wärtsilä
• Shipping Lines: Tim Nolan, Tote Maritime
• LNG Supporters: Xia Lianghui, Newport Shipping
• Ports: Sean Strawbridge, Port of Corpus Christi

Four board positions are also appointed by the general membership – chairperson and three at large board seats. After a call for nominations from SEA-LNG members, the following people were elected to the board:

• At large: David Colson, GTT, Jacob Granqvist, Gasum and Torsten Schramm, DNV
• Chair: Peter Keller, Chairman of SEA-LNG nominated by K Line

In 2023, one third of those elected are new SEA-LNG Board Members.  We would like to express our sincere thanks to all of the outgoing board members for their contributions to the successful development of SEA-LNG to date and welcome our new Board members, Panos, Sean, Tim and Xia.  For more information about the latest board of directors, please visit: https://sea-lng.org/our-people/