Columbia Shipmanagement (CSM) has underlined its commitment to growing its share of the important Asian market by boosting the size and capability of its management team in the region.

As part of this positive initiative, Demetris Chrysostomou has been appointed Managing Director of CSM’s Asia Region, working out of the company’s Singapore office.

Mr Chrysostomou will oversee, and be responsible for, all existing and future operations in the Asian region, including China, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Hong Kong, Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia. He will also retain overall responsibility for Group Marketing and Business Development and will have overall responsibility for the Singapore office supported, and reported to, by existing top management.

Welcoming the move, Mark O’Neil, Columbia Shipmanagement President and CEO, stressed: “Together this will be a compelling and extremely persuasive team and will place us into the best position possible to capitalise on the opportunities which now present themselves in the region.

“Columbia Shipmanagement has been growing its position globally this year, opening offices in Saudi Arabia, Greece and Italy through a variety of joint venture activities. We are keen to focus even more of our efforts on maximising the exciting opportunities the Asian market is presenting.”

Demetris Chrysostomou, said he was delighted to be taking on this important role within the CSM network of offices. He said: “The Asian market is a strong and important market to Columbia and boosting our presence here means we will be able to meet quickly, the needs and demands of this vibrant marketplace.

“Our Safety Management System (SMS) is consistent in all of our locations around the world, and we are able to provide the same quality of service wherever we operate from. Customers in Asia demand particularly high levels of service, and by establishing such a system, we will be able to meet their needs.

“We are also investing strongly in digitalisation to optimise our processes and procedures in managing the ships under our control. We look forward to working closely with our friends and clients here in Asia and to help share in these benefits,” Mr Chrysostomou added.