Fleet Director Placed in 18 Days for a Critical LNG Operation

Pacific Tankers Corp, a Singapore-headquartered LNG tanker operator with a fleet of 14 vessels, had been searching for a new Fleet Director for nearly four months. Two executive search agencies had failed to produce a viable shortlist. A critical vessel transition programme was at risk.

The Challenge

The brief was demanding: the successful candidate needed deep familiarity with LNG cargo operations, Class society relationships across BV and DNV, and the seniority to manage a team of 12 superintendents. Critically, they needed to be available within 60 days.

Compounding the difficulty, several of the most experienced Fleet Directors in the Singapore market were either under long notice periods or had recently signed retention packages with their current employers — a pattern DSG's market intelligence had already identified.

DSG's Approach

We activated our proprietary LNG talent network — a curated pool of 340+ technically verified maritime professionals across APAC — and conducted direct outreach to 28 targeted candidates within 48 hours of brief confirmation. We supplemented active search with confidential market mapping across the Singapore, Greece, and Norway corridors.

"DSG moved faster and with more precision than anyone we had worked with. They clearly knew who the right people were before we even finished the briefing." — CEO, Pacific Tankers Corp

The Outcome

A shortlist of four candidates was presented on Day 7. The preferred candidate — a Fleet Director transitioning from a major Korean owner — accepted an offer on Day 18, below the 60-day window. He joined with a full handover period and the vessel transition programme was delivered on schedule.