Danish shipowner and freight trader Navi Merchants has appointed Rasmus Saltofte as its new chief executive, adding a seasoned dry bulk executive to lead the Copenhagen Merchants Group subsidiary.

Saltofte joins Navi Merchants after nearly 20 years at Norden, where he most recently ran the company’s dry cargo business.

Navi Merchants is a wholly owned unit of Copenhagen Merchants Group (COPMER) and operates as a dry bulk freight provider whose trading footprint spans the Baltic and Continent, the Mediterranean, the US and Southeast Asia.

The company said it fixes around 800 vessels each year through its freight trading desk. Alongside its chartering activity, Navi Merchants operates a small but growing owned fleet of coaster and handysize vessels trading in the dry bulk tramp market.

The outfit currently manages about 10 vessels ranging from 3,500 dwt to 30,000 dwt and is also a participant and co-owner in a vessel pool covering more than 30 ships from the handy to ultramax segments. Fleet growth is set to continue, with delivery of the first of six 7,500 dwt multipurpose newbuildings due in early summer 2026.