Jos Steeman, Managing Director of Vopak Germany, joins the Platform’s advisory council as a new member. The Dutch national benefits from a long career in the oil and gas industries: after more than 25 years working for Shell in the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, and Dubai, he joined Vopak in 2008 in a senior capacity. Vopak is the world’s largest independent tank terminal operator providing storage and distribution solutions for liquid bulk products (oil, gas and chemical products as well as vegoils and biofuels). The Dutch company, headquartered in Rotterdam, operates 67 terminals in 25 countries and looks back on a company history of 400 years. Before becoming MD Germany, Jos Steeman was President of Vopak Latin America and Managing Director of Vopak Oil Rotterdam.

Commenting on his new role in the advisory council, he said:“I look forward to supporting the work of the Platform. LNG is an important business area for Vopak, and we will continue to focus on it. I am particularly keen to make use of our extensive international LNG experience to improve market conditions for LNG in Germany. The Platform is the right partner for Vopak to do so.”

Tessa Rodewaldt, the Platform’s Managing Director, added:”From the very start, we have closely co-operated with our Dutch partners. Vopak is another powerful Dutch partner, and I am delighted to them on board. As the Netherlands belong to the LNG avant-garde in Europe, the German market and its shipping sector can and should therefore benefit from Dutch experience. Especially Vopak can bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the table.”