WorldCargo News has learnt that South African transport utility Transnet has not renewed the 6-month contract of Tau Morwe (pictured left) as acting group chief executive, and he has stepped down after just six months in the post.

He was appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa after a swathe of the company’s executives were dismissed or resigned, including the previous CEO Siyabonga Gama, in the wake of the various corruption allegations to hit the company. Morwe had previously managed three key Transnet divisions – Transnet Freight Rail, the National Ports Authority and Transnet Port Terminals – but had been retired for three years when he took charge of group activities.

No official explanation was given for the move and no statement was made on why the company continues without a permanent CEO. Several other executive positions are also occupied on an acting basis. In a statement, the company merely said: “The Board acknowledges the good work done by Mr Morwe in pursuit of the reorganisation and operational efficiencies at Transnet and wishes to express its appreciation.”

He has been replaced by Mohammed Mahomedy, who has been acting group chief financial officer over the past 12 months, again in an acting CEO capacity. Transnet chairman Popo Molefe said: “The stability of the organisation remains a key focus of the board and this appointment was made with this in mind, giving consideration to Mahomedy’s experience at Transnet over a period of more than 12 years.”

In mid-May, Mahomedy was called as a witness in a parliamentary inquiry into corruption. He told the inquiry that some Transnet executives had found out about contracts awarded by their divisions only when they were reported by the media.

Molefe told a judicial inquiry into state capture that corruption at the company was “endemic.” He said there was a “culture of fear” and he identified former senior officials Brian Molefe, Anoj Singh and Siyabonga Gama as the architects of the capture of Transnet.

Rob Grool has been appointed CEO of Zeaborn Ship Management GmbH & Cie KG, based in Hamburg. “With the appointment of Rob Grool we have found an internationally renowned  executive for our company’s top management,” said Zeaborn Group Managing  Partners Jan-Hendrik Többe and Ove Meyer in a joint statement. “Rob has an excellent industry network  and possesses the know how  in all areas of ship management  as well as international expertise  and many years of leadership experience .With the acquisition of Claus peter Offen’s Tankschiffreederei (CPO Tankers), we have set the course for Zeaborn Ship Management  to be a full service  provider for ship management and will work  towards  a strategic  goal of expanding our fleet to more than 250 vessels. Grool replaces Interim CEO Holger Strack, who is joining ZECH Group.

The Board of Directors of the Georgia Ports Authority has elected William D McKnight as chairman. “As an entrepreneur and business leader with more than 30 years in the construction industry, Will McKnight has the experience necessary to keep GPA at the forefront, delivering opportunity for growth to large and small businesses across the state,” said Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. McKnight, who has served as vice chairman since 2018, will assume his new responsibilities July 1, replacing outgoing chairman Jimmy Allgood. Along with McKnight, the board elected Patrick “Kelly” Farr Jr as vice chairman, while Joel Wooten will remain in his role as secretary-treasurer.

Tapani Voionmaa, Group General Counsel at Finnlines Plc, has been elected to the BIMCO Board of Directors. The election was held at BIMCO’s General Meeting in Athens, Greece on Tuesday, 14 May.

The Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) has appointed Thorsten Neumann as its first-ever full-time President and CEO, with a remit to grow its reputation as the world’s leading end-to-end supply chain resilience association and to deliver more risk management solutions for TAPA’s membership of shippers, LSPs and other supply chain security stakeholders. Neumann, a Civil Expert in the NATO Transport Group, has served in a voluntary capacity as Chairman of TAPA’s EMEA region since 2006, alongside his responsibilities as, most recently, Director APS Channel Security & Business Resilience at Microsoft Corporation.

London, UK: Global engineering consultancy Mott MacDonald has appointed Kelvin Clarke as regional director of the Surface Transport team in Scotland.