APEEJAY SHIPPING LIMITED - Key Persons


Mr. Asesh Jyoti Dutta

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors

Mr. Karan Paul

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors

Mr. Sabyasachi Hajara

Job Titles:
  • Independent Director
  • Member of the Board of Directors
Sabyasachi Hajara,previously Chief Executive of India's largest and most diversified shipping company, Shipping Corporation of India, joined the Board of Apeejay Shipping Limited as an Independent Director in February 2015. In the seven years that Mr Hajara served in SCI from 2005 - 2012 , he took its total fleet to 78 ships of about 6 Million DWT , the turnover to about Rs.4500 crore and gross asset value of Rs. 13334 crore. Mr Hajara is the only person in the Indian shipping industry, in independent India, to have held the most important post of the President of Indian National Shipowners Association (INSA) for 5 years in a row. An influential figure in the shipping industry globally, Mr Hajara is not only the sole Indian who has been featured among the top 100 influential personalities in the global shipping industry in 2010 by two reputed industry journals -TradeWinds and Lloyd's List, he was also the Director and Vice President of the International Shipping Federation, the most important ship owners' forum in the world which represents the ship owning fraternity in ILO, IMO and other UN bodies. An alumnus of IIM Calcutta and Norwegian Shipping Academy, Mr Hajara's professional career is dotted with accolades and awards. At the India Shipping Summit 2007, he was conferred the "Innovator Of The Year" award. In 2008 he was conferred the "Business Leader of the Year Award - for Shipping" by Shipping & Marine 2008 supported by Chemtech Foundation. In 2011 at the Middle East & Indian Subcontinent Awards he was conferred Seatrade Outstanding Achievement Award. In the same year he received Distinguished Alumnus Award from his Alma Mater, Indian Institute of Management Calcutta making him one of the first recipients of this award. In 2012 at the Sailors Today Award ceremony he was conferred with the prestigious Life-Time Achievement award for his outstanding contributions to the Shipping Industry for last four decades. In the same year at the 3rd All India Maritime and Logistics Awards, he was conferred the Global Indian & Maritime Personality of the Year and was also conferred Life time Achievement Award by Lloyd's list. He is one of the very few non seafaring persons in India to be honoured with an Honorary fellowship/ honorary membership by the Institute of Marine Engineers and the Company of Master Mariners. Mr Hajara currently serves as an Independent Director on the Boards of several companies including Adani Petronet Port Project Limited; TM International Logistics Ltd (A Tata Steel subsidiary); ICL Shipping, Dubai, Dharti Dredging and infrastructure Limited and Tata Robins Fraser Limited. He is the Chief Advisor of Doehle Danautic India Private Limited; an Independent Member of the Board of L&T Shipbuilding I/C; member of the Board of Governors of IIM, Shillong; member of Managing Committee of Bombay Chamber of Commerce & Industry and is Chairman & Independent Director of Dolphin Offshore Shipping Limited. He has been the Chairman of CII National Committee on Shipping for 8 years, the Chairman of Indian National Committee American Bureau of Shipping and was the only elected Indian Emeritus member to the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, UK.

Ms. Priya Paul

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors

Ramakanta Rath

Job Titles:
  • IAS Officer
Ramakanta Rath, an IAS officer of 1957 cadre, joined the Board of Apeejay Shipping Limited in 1994. In his long and distinguished career as a civil servant, Mr Rath has held several important posts under the Government of India such as Secretary to the Government of India, before retiring as Chief Secretary to the Government of Odisha. During his tenure, he also served the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of United Nations in Guyana (South America) for a year. Post retirement, he founded the Orissa Maritime Academy, a premier institute for training seamen, at Paradip, Odisha. A Post Graduate in English Literature from Ravenshaw College, Odisha, Mr Rath is also one of the most renowned modernist poets of Oriya literature and has been honoured with several awards for his writings. He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1977, Saraswathi Samman in 1992 and Bishuva Samman in 1990. In 2006, he was honoured with the country's 3rd highest civilian award - Padma Bhushan - in recognition of his contribution to literature and education. He was the Vice President of Sahitya Academy of India from 1993 to 1998 and the President of the Sahitya Akademi of India from 1998 to 2003. In February 2009, he was awarded a fellowship by the Central Sahitya Akademi, the fifth Oriya writer to be honoured so far. He has served as Vice President of Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) and has been a leader of several delegations on Indian Literature. In 2009, he was conferred the Honorary Doctorate Degree - D. Litt - by KIIT University, Odisha.

Ranganathan Narasimhan - COO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Operating Officer
  • Member of Nautical Institute
Capt. Ranganathan Narasimhan is Chief Operating Officer, Apeejay Shipping Limited (ASL) and is responsible for the commercial and chartering function of the organization in addition to leading other departments of ASL. A master mariner with over 25 years of experience in shipping industry, Capt Narasimhan has sailed on various kinds of vessels such as bulk carriers, product tankers and chemical tankers and worked with Poompuhar Shipping Corporation, Sanmar Shipping Ltd and Anglo-Eastern Ship Management, where he has also looked after the training and audit of the company.