Sea Trucks Group (Sea Trucks), one of the largest and fastest growing oil and gas marine contractors in West Africa, has appointed Robert-Jan van Acker as its Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Robert van Acker (39) has over 13 years experience in the international marine industry. He joins Sea Trucks from Svitzer Group, the global provider of specialised marine services, where he worked for over 10 years in a series of increasingly senior management positions. Mr. van Acker led the Salvage, Euromed and Ocean Towage divisions from 2005 onwards, and lately held the position of Senior Executive Vice President as well as being a member of the executive committee of the Svitzer Group.

Mr. van Acker also led the Svitzer team in its successful joint venture, working with Sea Trucks on the removal of the West Atlas Rig in Australia in 2010. He established Svitzer India and was Managing Director of “Wijsmuller Ocean Sparkle JV”, a marine services company focused on delivering tugboat services to LNG terminals in India.

Robert holds a BA in Business Administration from the Hanze Business school in Groningen, The Netherlands and an Executive MBA from IMD Business school in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Robert will take up his position later this year, at a date which will be announced shortly. Until such time, Mr. Jacques Roomans (owner and President) will continue in his position as Chief Executive Officer until Mr. van Acker will assume his duties and he will work closely with Mr. van Acker during the hand-over period.

Jacques Roomans, President and CEO of Sea Trucks, commented,“We are delighted that Robert has agreed to join Sea Trucks at this exciting time. He brings with him a wealth of experience which will undoubtedly further help us achieve the ambitious goals that we have set ourselves for the coming years. Attracting someone of Robert’s calibre to our company is an endorsement of our ambitions and of our vessel fleet and management team that we have in place. We look forward to working with Robert and welcoming him to the company in the very near future.”

Tags: Sea Trucks Group