Jack Noonan named commodore of Connecticut Maritime Association

Jnoonan

(STAMFORD, Conn.) — John D. “Jack” Noonan, CEO of Chembulk Tankers, has been named as the Connecticut Maritime Association (CMA) commodore for the year 2017.

Noonan follows a long succession of influential maritime industry leaders as commodore. The 2017 Commodore Award will be presented on March 22 at the gala dinner marking the conclusion of the annual Connecticut Maritime Association conference and trade exposition, at the Hilton Hotel in Stamford, Conn. The award is given each year to a person in the international maritime industry who has contributed to the growth and development of the industry.

Noonan joined the company in April 2007, originally serving as chief operating officer. He was promoted to president after the acquisition of Chembulk by Berlian Laju Tanker (BLT) in December 2007 and subsequently to CEO of the BLT Chembulk Group in November 2010. He was actively involved in the restructuring of Chembulk Tanker parent BLT, spearheading the business-related initiatives of the process from January 2012 until its conclusion in November 2015.

Noonan is a graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, N.Y. Following graduation, he sailed for six years as a deck officer with the U.S.-flag tanker fleet of Texaco, ultimately advancing his USCG license to chief mate. He has 30-plus years’ experience in the chemical tanker business, having served in operations and chartering positions with chemical tanker owner Stolt-Nielsen and ship brokerage firm Sound Tanker Chartering (now SPI Marine). He also served as vice president of Clipper Group’s Copenhagen Tankers and subsequently president of Clipper Tankers USA, a position he held until he joined Chembulk. He is a member of the American Bureau of Shipping and of the North American Committees of DNV GL and ClassNK. With the exception of his years at sea, his entire maritime career has been spent in Connecticut, throughout which he has been a member of the CMA.

“The CMA is honored to present Mr. Jack Noonan with the 2017 Commodore Award," said Joe Gross, president of the CMA. "As the current president and as a former education chair of the CMA and board member of the CMA Education Foundation, it has been my great pleasure and honor to have seen and benefited firsthand from his generosity of spirit and substantive support of our community. We try to do all that we can to support the mission of the CMA, to broaden and support the reputation of the industry to communities as diverse as the next generation to soon enter the industry, those in business who could and should know more about the significance of the industry, and even to spread the word to the broader population. Education about what the industry contributes is paramount to all of us at CMA. And in the time I have had the chance to know Jack, I can honestly say that no one speaks more to the important core values of enthusiastically representing the business, whether it is in commercial dealing with his clients and customers, with his active support of the maritime academies, the growth and development of his company here in Connecticut, and his very clear enthusiasm for the people in the business."

Former CMA commodores include: Ole Skaarup, Jacob Stolt-Nielsen, George Livanos, Phil Loree, Thomas Moran, Gregory Hadjieleftheriadis, Helmut Sohmen, Gerhard Kurz, William O’Neil, Richard du Moulin, Per Heidenreich, Marc Saverys, Frank Tsao, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Peter Georgiopoulos, C. Sean Day, Torben Jensen, Morten Arntzen, John Fredriksen, Capt. Wei Jiafu, Philippe Louis-Dreyfus, Angeliki Frangou, Oivind Lorentzen, III, Peter Evensen, Robert Bugbee, Capt. Panagiotis Tsakos and in 2016 Paddy Rodgers.

By Professional Mariner Staff