Dr Martin Kröger will succeed Ralf Nagel as CEO of the German Shipowners’ Association (VDR) effective 30 April 2022.
Nagel steps down after 12 years as CEO and Executive Member of the Presidential Committee. He will continue to serve the VDR in an advisory capacity until 31 December 2022.
During his time in office, Nagel has successfully campaigned to uphold Germany’s status as a strong and competitive shipping hub. His term in office has also seen the establishment of the Stiftung Schifffahrtsstandort Deutschland, a Hamburg-based non-profit foundation that promotes the training and employment of seafarers. The Association’s work in Brussels and at the IMO in London has been expanded and strengthened under Nagel’s stewardship.
“The Association’s Presidential Committee, which was newly elected in December 2021, is thereby also completing a generational change in the Executive Management of the Association,” says VDR President Dr. Gaby Bornheim. “We would like to thank Ralf Nagel for his exemplary commitment and great efforts on behalf of the German maritime shipping sector,” she said. “The past decade was marked by a severe shipping crisis immediately followed by a global pandemic that has also had a major impact on shipping. Ralf Nagel has continuously steered the association safely through these times of crisis and has been an excellent representative of the Association’s interests both nationally and internationally. For this, we are very grateful to him.”
Nagel said: “In the 12 years I have worked in merchant shipping, I have been able to indulge my passion for maritime shipping and champion the interests of this strategically important sector. The successes achieved would not have been possible without the strong cohesion and outstanding expertise of all the staff at the Association’s offices. I would like to thank this exemplary crew with all my heart and wish Dr. Kröger and the team continued success and all the very best.”
Kröger is a shipping and association expert with excellent networks and a proven track record at both the European and international levels, said Bornheim. He has been working for the VDR as Managing Director for 10 years and, in this capacity, has played a key role in the fields of European and international shipping policy, Germany’s competitiveness as a shipping hub, as well as environmental and climate protection in shipping.
“The challenges facing the shipping industry will remain enormous in the years ahead,” said Kröger. “Crisis management, recruiting young talent, digitalisation, maintaining Germany’s competitiveness as a shipping hub and, of course, the ongoing transformation of the shipping industry – these are currently the most important issues for the future of the association. Nationally and internationally, VDR will remain called upon and committed to the future. I am very much looking forward to leading the Association into this new era together with the highly motivated VDR team of experts and its members.”
Latest figures from the VDR show that Germany is currently the world’s sixth-largest shipping nation, with a 3.8% share of the global merchant fleet (down by 0.7% year-on-year). Germany continues to operate the world’s second-largest fleet of container ships after China. At the end of 2021, a total of 1,917 ships with a combined gross tonnage of 46.1 million were registered in German shipping registers, or 84 fewer vessels than the year before.
