Peder Simonsen made permanent CEO of Golden Ocean

Peder Simonsen, the acting chief executive of bulker owner Golden Ocean, will continue in the role on a permanent basis.

Golden Ocean’s chief of finance, Simonsen, was named interim CEO of the Nasdaq- and Oslo-listed owner of more than 80 bulkers last May when Lars-Christian Svensen decided to step down from the role.

Svensen now heads up Tor Olav Trøim-backed newcastlemax players 2020 Bulkers and Himalaya Shipping.

Golden Ocean has also appointed Randi Navdal Bekkelund to take over from Simonsen as the new finance chief. She will join from soon-to-be-liquidated Avance Gas in June.

In March, CMB.TECH took John Fredriksen’s controlling stake in Golden Ocean for close to $1.2bn. The Saverys family-controlled shipowning vehicle has been buying Golden Ocean stock ever since and is close to triggering a mandatory takeover bid.