The affairs of SSA are managed by a Council, supported by the SSA Secretariat.
Biennially, the Ordinary Members of the Association elect seven Council members, and in turn they can co-opt up to six other members, at least two of who must be representatives of Ordinary Members of the Association, to form the Council.
Both the elected and co-opted Council Members hold their offices for a term of two years.
President Mr. Teo Teng Seng Advisor
Vice President and Secretary Mr. Lakhbir Singh Managing Director
Vice President and Treasurer Ms. Katie Men Managing Director
Mr Teo was appointed as the Advisor of Pacific International Lines (PIL) in July 2022. Prior to this appointment, Mr Teo was the Managing Director of PIL Logistics Pte Ltd since the company was founded in 2001.
Prior to starting up PIL Logistics, Mr Teo headed the information technology, planning and budgeting functions in PIL as its Executive Director. Under his purview, PIL pioneered an enterprise resource planning system that runs on a single instance system architecture. In PIL Logistics, Mr Teo oversees business strategy, helping the company chart out its goals, objectives and tactical plans. He refines go-to-market strategies including value propositions, services, solutions, marketing and branding. He also oversees and identify new areas of growth for the company and builds international strategic partners to facilitate the growth of the company.
Since his appointment as Chair of SSA’s Digitalization Committee in 2021, his committee has driven many initiatives focused on industry-wide capability building in maritime digitalization. Through the committee’s efforts, SSA members have increased their awareness of relevant maritime technology developments that will support the digital transformation of their businesses.
Mr Teo graduated from the University of Tennessee with an Electrical Engineering degree and a Master in Business Administration from the University of Washington.
Mr Lakhbir Singh is the CEO of Orient Maritime Agencies Singapore Pte Ltd. He co-founded the Orient Maritime Group (OMG) in 2015, a ship agency that fronts agency work for bulk carriers, tankers and liners.
Lakhbir has over 30 years of experience in the shipping agency business. Before setting up OMG, Lakhbir spent 24 years in various roles and positions within Jardine Shipping Services.
Since his appointment as SSA Councillor in 2022, Lakhbir has been serving as the Services Committee Chair. The Services Committee focuses on improving port maritime services in Singapore. During his term, the Committee’s efforts enabled the post-COVID resumption of alongside activities in private oil terminals in Singapore.
Lakhbir holds a double MBA degree with specialization in Shipping, Offshore and Finance from Nanyang Business School. He is a seasoned Hockey player, captaining Singapore over 50’s Hockey team in the Masters World Cup in South Africa in 2022.
Ms Katie Men is the Managing Director of iSEACO Investment Pte Ltd, a ship-owning company that deals with ship management and ship investment for the container and drybulk segment.
Before joining iSEACO in 2007, Katie worked in equity trading and marketing roles in the US.
Katie joined SSA in 2007 as Vice-Chair of SSA Young Executive Group and progressed on to become its Chair. Since 2011, Katie has been a SSA Council Member. Currently, Katie serves as SSA Vice President and Honorary Treasurer, and as Honorary Treasurer for the Asian Shipowners’ Association.
Katie holds Master of Science degrees in Marine Transportation and Investment Management from State University of New York Maritime College and Lubin School of Business respectively. Katie received the Seatrade Young Person of the Year award in 2018.
Chair, Legal & Insurance Committee Mr. Leong Kah Wah Partner Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP
Chair, International Committee Capt. Kunal Nakra General Manager, Safety Governance and Performance
Vice-Chair, International Committee Dr Akanksha Batura Pai Executive Director
Mr. Leong Kah Wah is a Partner at Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP, specialising in Shipping & International Trade and dispute resolution. He has appeared as lead counsel in landmark Court of Appeal judgements and has extensive experience in handling commercial disputes in Court litigation, arbitration and mediation.
Mr. Leong was the Chair of the SSA Legal & Insurance Committee in the 2023 / 2025 Council Term, which was responsible for the launch of the Singapore Cyber Insurance for Safe Shipping and Operational Readiness (SCISSOR) platform, the first of its kind cyber insurance portal. This platform was launched in collaboration with the Digitalisation Committee, in response to the growing cyber risks in maritime operations and a need to address these issues.
Mr. Leong was appointed Senior Accredited Specialist Maritime and Shipping by the Singapore Academy of Law and is the President of the Maritime Law Association of Singapore. He is acknowledged in Legal 500 Asia Pacific guidebook and ranked Band 1 in Chambers and “is widely viewed as a prominent litigator in the market.”
Capt. Kunal Nakra is the General Manager for Safety Governance and Performance at Swire Shipping Pte Ltd, which is the oldest operating entity of the Swire Group. He joined Swire Shipping in November 2023 and is responsible for Safety Governance and Strategy development at the corporate level. He is a firm believer that humans are fallible and is an ardent supporter of making sense of how an organization’s culture has an influence on people’s behaviour.
Prior to taking up the role at Swire Shipping, Capt. Kunal was the Deputy Director of the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB), which is Singapore’s national investigation authority under the Ministry of Transport (MOT). In that role, he oversaw the formation of the TSIB, legislation drafting and the conduct of marine safety investigations (no blame investigations) on behalf of Singapore, into casualties that involved Singapore registered ships and foreign flagged ships within Singapore’s waters. During his time with the MOT, he was a member of the Singapore delegation to the IMO and was also the Chair of the casualty analysis working group for 6 years at the IMO Instruments Implementation (III) Sub-committee where he led the development of recommendations to the IMO’s rule making process. Prior to being seconded to MOT, Capt. Kunal was with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore as a Flag State Inspector, Investigator and Auditor.
Capt. Kunal is well-versed with IMO instruments as well as the III Code, is a consultant to the IMO on casualty investigation matters and audit of IMO Member States and is an alumnus of the World Maritime University. He is a Fellow of the Nautical Institute (UK) and the Vice-Chair of its Singapore Branch.
Dr Akanksha Batura Pai is the Executive Director at Sinoda Shipping Agency Pte Ltd. She is also a Partner at Seamind Blue Ocean Pte Ltd, and a Strategy Consultant at RAKS International Pte Ltd. She is also actively involved in the maritime scene, holding multiple roles such as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Goodwill Maritime Ambassador, Mission to Seafarers Global Ambassador.
Dr Akansha served in the SSA Youth Executive Group Committee from 2015 and has since progressed to be a council member, serving as the Vice-Chair of the SSA International Committee for the council term 2023/2025. The International Committee is dedicated to addressing the key challenges within the global shipping industry and contributing towards shaping international shipping policy.
Dr Akanksha has Master’s Degree in Business Administration and Management from National University of Singapore (NUS) and has over a decade of experience in the shipping agency sector. She also serves as a Liaison Officer at The Hon. Consulate-General of the Republic of Malta, Singapore, handling various cultural & trade events and diplomatic matters.
Chair, Technical Committee Mr. Goh Chung Hun President & Strategic Business Partner
Vice-Chair, Digitalisation Committee Mr. Joey Chua Director of Digital and IT Transformation
Chair, Young Executives Group (YEG) Committee Mr. Prabjot Singh Chopra Vice President, Technology
Mr. Goh Chung Hun is the President & Strategic Business Partner at Lloyd’s Register Singapore Pte Ltd, and has over 30 years of seafaring, fleet management, class and regulatory experience. He was previously the Marine Operations Manager in Singapore for Lloyd’s register, before serving in various other leadership capacities in fleet management and flag registry. Preceding his return to Lloyd’s Register, he was the head of fleet-management in Pacific International Lines (PIL) where he oversaw the technical, crewing, purchasing, new-building and bunkering departments.
Prior to his role at PIL, Mr. Goh was the Director of Marine at the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), where he managed the Singapore Registry of Ships, flag state control, port state control, marine casualty investigations, maritime regulations, as well as the training and certification of seafarers. He was the head of Singapore’s delegation to the IMO for the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) and chaired the IMO working group that finalised the upcoming ban on the use of heavy fuel oil in the Arctic. During the Covid-19 pandemic, he was also responsible for setting up a specialised team to manage and facilitate safe crew change at the Port of Singapore.
Mr. Goh holds a Master of Science (Maritime Studies) from Nanyang Technological University and a Class 1 Certificate of Competency in Marine Engineering.
Mr. Joey Chua is the Director of Digital and IT Transformation at Gulf Marine Pte Ltd, where he is responsible for overseeing the company’s IT strategy and charting the course of their Digital Transformation Journey, contributing to its resilience and innovation. He joined Gulf Marine in December 2022 and is committed to fostering Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in the workplace culture.
Beyond Gulf Marine, Mr. Chua is also an active member of the SSA Digitalisation Committee 2023/2025 and holds the position of Vice Chair in the Cybersecurity Workgroup, which is responsible for the launch of the Cybersafe Scorecard. The Cybersafe Scorecard allows shipowners to assess the cyberhealth of their vessels, preparing them for compliance and providing greater clarity of industry benchmarks. His contribution to the initiative underscores his commitment to advancing industry standards and practices, particularly in increasingly critical areas of cybersecurity and digitalisation.
Mr. Chua started his maritime journey as a marine engineer at the Republic of Singapore Navy. Prior to his current role at Gulf Marine, he was the Head of Information Technology at both OSM Maritime Ship Management and SeaTeam Management, accruing over a decade of experience in the maritime digitalisation space.
Mr. Prabjot Singh Chopra is the Vice President of Technology and a member of the Board of Directors at SeaTech Solutions, a Singaporean ship designer and marine engineering company with offices in region and in Germany and Australia. He spearheads the advancement of innovative ‘Green Ship Design’ concepts, integrating alternative fuels such as Methanol, Ammonia, and Hydrogen, along with cutting-edge technologies like Energy Storage Systems and Fuels Cells.
Since 2018, Mr. Chopra has been an active member in the Young Executive Group (YEG) Committee and was appointed its Chair in 2023. The YEG Committee focuses on the empowerment and professional development of young maritime professionals in SSA member companies.
Mr. Chopra sits on the Regional Board of the International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) for Asia. He holds a Master of Science in Marine Technology from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and a Bachelor of Engineering in Offshore Engineering from the National University of Singapore (NUS).
Vice-Chair, Marine Fuels Committee Mr. Choong Sheen Mao Chief Operating Officer Equatorial Marine Fuel Management Services Pte Ltd
Councillor Ms. Sherin Goh Chief, People & Organisation
Chair, Marine Fuels Committee Mr. Rohit Radhakrishnan General Manager, Tanker & Gas Pacific Carriers Limited
Mr. Choong Sheen Mao is the Chief Operating Officer of Equatorial Marine Fuel Management Service Pte Ltd, a vertically integrated physical bunker supplier in Singapore. It owns and operators a fleet of ocean-going and bunkering vessels, supplying an estimate of annual bunker volume of 5 million tonnes. In 2022 and 2023, Equatorial was ranked as the largest marine fuel supplier by volume in Singapore by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA)
As COO of Equatorial, Sheen Mao spearheads the company’s digitalisation and decarbonisation initiatives. He is also a Board Member of the International Bunker Industry Association’s (IBIA) Asia Board.
Sheen Mao graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) from the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom. Prior to joining Equatorial, he practised as a shipping and international trade lawyer at one of the largest law firms in Asia.
Ms. Sherin Goh is the Chief, People & Organisation of IMC Shipping Co Pte Ltd, which is a part of Tsao Pao Chee (TPC) Group. She is responsible for driving the organisation’s Management Model in alignment with the Well-Being Mandate over TPC’s diverse portfolio of businesses covering shipping & logistics, shipyards, ports, resources, real estate, investment management and lifestyle industries across the globe. This includes driving HR programmes aimed at attracting, engaging, developing and retaining talents to enable delivery of business strategy and growth. She holds 5a secondary role as a Senior Consultant and Coach within the OCTAVE Institute business arm to serve the Organisation Development needs for TPC.
Prior to her role in TPC, Ms. Goh was the Regional HR Director for Asia at International SOS, owning and driving all HR programmes, processes and requirements for the region. She was also a member of the Asia Region Executive Committee. Under her leadership, the Asia-region HR teams won 10 external HR Awards and was lauded for instituting best practices in talent management within the organisation.
Ms. Goh graduated with an Honours Degree in Law from the National University of Singapore (NUS), starting her career as a practising lawyer before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Singapore as a Foreign Service Officer. She holds a Masters in Consulting and Coaching for Change from INSEAD, a post-graduate diploma in Human Resource Management from Singapore Institute of Management (SIM).
Mr. Rohit Radhakrishnan is currently the General Manager, Tanker & Gas at Pacific Carriers Limited (PCL), the shipping arm of the Kuok group. He is actively involved in running the commercial operations for the PCL tanker and gas fleet and heads up the business and has over 18 years of experience in the maritime industry.
Prior to joining PCL, Rohit was Senior Manager, Commercial at BW LPG and has held other commercial roles within the wider BW Group (Tankers). He was responsible for commercial operations and customer relationship management of the LPG fleet in Singapore and had previously been involved in the transition of the commercial roles into Singapore and subsequent listing of the company at the Oslo stock exchange.
Rohit holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) degree from the National University of Singapore and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.
Chair, Decarbonisation Committee Mr. Lee Keng Lin Group Chief Executive Officer Cyan Renewables Pte Ltd
Mr. Lee Keng Lin is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Cyan Renewables Pte Ltd, a provider of first-class offshore marine assets and services for the global offshore Wind Sector. He has over 20 years of experience in the offshore marine industry, including serving as the CEO of PACC Offshore Services Holdings Ltd, and as a Director in international maritime companies including shipyards, shipping and venture group.
Mr. Lee served as the Chair of the Decarbonisation Committee, which primarily focuses on industry activities that occur within port waters, facilitating the sector’s transition towards cleaner energy use, and improving the efficiency and sustainability of Harbour Craft operations within our port waters. These efforts are crucial to helping Maritime Singapore achieve the decarbonisation goals and CO2 reduction milestones.
Mr. Lee graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) with first-class honours in Electrical Engineering and was on the Vice Chancellor’s List. He is a Chartered Financial Analys (CFA) and an alumnus of INSEAD.
