Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) has appointed Rajesh Unni, founder and chairman of Synergy Marine Group, to its advisory board as part of efforts to strengthen its strategic and risk management framework.
The Tokyo-headquartered shipping giant and the country’s largest shipowner in terms of dwt said the board, created in April 2024, aims to draw on the experience of external experts to guide long-term business planning and help MOL respond to shifting global, technological and environmental conditions.
Unni, who built Singapore-based Synergy Marine Group into one of the world’s largest shipmanagers — growing its managed fleet from zero to more than 700 vessels in just 19 years — brings broad expertise in shipmanagement, digitalisation and sustainability.
He has served as a director at maritime analytics firm Windward, an advisor at Alsym Energy, and as a member of the Lloyd’s Register South Asia Advisory Committee and the Global Maritime Forum.
MOL said Unni’s appointment will bring “strategic guidance informed by a global perspective,” supporting the company’s “next-generation shipping” ambitions under its Blue Action 2035 plan.
The appointment follows MOL’s move earlier this year to integrate its shipmanagement units under a single banner. The company renamed its Singapore-based LNG management arm, MOL LNG Ship Management, to MOL Global Ship Management (MOLGSM), which will eventually oversee more than 200 ships spanning LNG carriers, bulkers and tankers.
MOL said the advisory board will play a key role in navigating the group’s transformation into a “global social infrastructure company,” by incorporating diverse external perspectives into its strategic decision-making.
