Shipping Operations Executive

About the Company

Clearlake Shipping, part of Gunvor Group, is a major global charterer of tanker tonnage and an operator of tankers as well as LPG and LNG carriers. The business has built an experienced international team that supports the Group’s freight needs and also serves external market activity. Operating since 2003, the company manages a quality fleet across spot and time-charter arrangements for safe ocean transport on major trade routes, while also handling third-party cargoes. Its work spans chartering roughly 1,500 vessels each year across crude, products, chemicals, LPG, LNG, freight hedging (FFA), operations, claims, and ship/terminal safety advice.

Role Overview

This Dubai-based role reports to the Regional Head of Operations and works closely with chartering, freight, cargo operations, trading, legal, claims, controls, and technical teams. The position provides day-to-day shipping support for dirty petroleum products, clean petroleum products, and LPG/LNG movements across time-chartered, spot-chartered, and third-party voyages.

What You Will Do

• Oversee commercial operations before and after fixture for MR, LR1, LR2, Aframax, VLCC, and LPG/LNG vessels on spot and time-charter voyages.
• Complete pre-fixture checks to confirm whether nominated vessels can trade on a proposed voyage, including port and terminal limitations, ship-shore fit, vessel vetting, and voyage-specific operational needs.
• Draft and circulate voyage orders, cargo stowage guidance, and operating instructions to masters, owners, agents, terminals, and internal teams.
• Advise chartering and trading teams on tanker and gas-carrier voyage practicality, including cargo handling, terminal fit, tank readiness, cool-down, gassing-up, heel planning, boil-off or fuel-gas mode, and contamination exposure.
• Track vessel movements, weather routing, speed, and fuel use; assess performance and pursue owner claims where relevant.
• Improve cargo stowage, bunkering, routing, and port time planning to protect voyage profitability and safe execution.
• Nominate port agents and service providers, while managing port expenses, disbursement accounts, and funding on time.
• Prepare and process letters of indemnity promptly, including arranging signatures and forwarding them to the relevant counterparties.
• Coordinate non-commercial voyage matters such as bunkering, deslopping, ship-to-ship support, towage, mooring, and related services.
• Make sure all shipping activity follows international, local, safety, security, environmental, and terminal rules.
• Arrange armed guards for passages through high-risk areas and confirm the required insurance cover is in place for those voyages.
• Work with vessel owners on oil major approvals, SIRE compliance, and vessel suitability for trading.
• Partner with traders, trading operators, legal, claims, controls, technical teams, shipowners, brokers, agents, and terminals to keep voyages running smoothly.
• Keep Operational System / IMOS records accurate and update voyage P&L promptly so traders and management have reliable information.
• Coordinate with Controls on hire payments, off-hire events, deliveries, redeliveries, freight billing, and final hire settlement.
• Maintain operational documentation in line with legal, tax, and internal recordkeeping standards.
• Provide documents needed for interim port calculations and claims, including speed-up, slow-steaming, waiting time, heating and purging costs, charterers’ expenses, and other recoveries.
• Serve as a dependable contact for regular internal and external queries, and escalate operational, financial, legal, compliance, or reputational concerns without delay.
• Resolve disputes, shortages, incidents, and operational interruptions independently, escalating only when additional action is needed.
• Contribute to shipping strategy, process enhancement, and operational controls that improve efficiency, reduce costs, and strengthen risk management.
• Take on additional tasks as required by the supervisor.

Candidate Profile

• Diploma in Maritime, Shipping, Logistics, or a related field.
• At least 8 years of shipping operations experience, ideally in a commodity trading environment; candidates from shipowners, ship managers, or gas-carrier operators may also be considered.
• Hands-on experience with tankers and/or LPG/LNG operations, including gas-carrier voyage management, charter party execution, terminal operations, and cargo handling requirements.
• Background supporting traders or charterers in a fast-moving commercial setting, with solid understanding of voyage economics.
• Working knowledge of international, national, and local shipping rules, especially safety, security, environmental, and terminal compliance.
• Strong grasp of pre-fixture and post-fixture processes, voyage instructions, port agency coordination, letters of indemnity, hire and freight processes, off-hire, claims, and dispute handling.
• Comfortable using IMOS or similar shipping systems, with disciplined data handling and awareness of voyage P&L.
• Ability to work independently under pressure, manage several voyages across time zones, and make sound operational decisions with limited supervision.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Self-driven, organized, outcome-focused, and collaborative.

Preferred Experience

• Experience with a major energy or commodity trading house managing tanker and/or LPG/LNG shipping operations.
• Exposure to technical aspects of gas-carrier operations, including ship-shore compatibility, terminal vetting, custody transfer, heel and fuel-gas planning, and voyage-specific constraints.
• Experience with ship-to-ship operations, Panama or Suez Canal transits, gas-carrier bunkering, and claims under voyage or time-charter agreements.
• Sea-going tanker experience, or shore-based technical exposure to LPG/LNG carriers, would be an advantage but is not essential.

Additional Information

This is a full-time, on-site position in Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The company encourages interested candidates who meet the requirements to apply. The organization also notes that its people are central to its success.