Nobu Su () is the CEO and owner of the Taipei-based

shipping company A shipping line or shipping company is a company whose line of business is ownership and operation of ships. Shipping companies provide a method of distinguishing ships by different kinds of cargo: # Bulk cargo is a type of special cargo that is ...

Today Makes Tomorrow (TMT).

Education

He graduated with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

(B.Sc.) in economics from

Keio University , abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university located in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally established as a school for Rangaku, Western studies in 1858 in Edo. It was granted university status in 1920, becomi ...

in Tokyo, Japan, and earned a

M.B.A. A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

from the

International Institute for Management Development International Institute for Management Development (IMD) is an independent academic institute with campuses in Lausanne, Switzerland and Singapore. IMD is known for its executive education and its proximity to business. In 2024, it named David B ...

(IMD) in 1982.

Entrepreneurship

Su has also designed an underdeck piping structure for ships, which he patented in Japan,

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

and China, which he has allowed shipping companies to use without license. Su’s underdeck piping system for ships is currently in commercial use. On 19 April 2011, Su was given the Lifetime Achievement for Entrepreneurship award at the international ShipTek conference.

Shipping business

Su has turned TMT, his company, into an operator of real tankers and

dry bulk Bulk cargo is product cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. Description Bulk cargo refers to material in either liquid or granular, particulate (as a mass of relatively small solids) form, such as petroleum/crude oil, ...

ships. Under his direction TMT has expanded its fleet to include drybulk carriers, very large crude carriers, cargo carriers,

liquefied natural gas Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volume o ...

carriers, automobile carriers, and cement carriers The most recent vessel purchases have been in Capesize dry-bulk carriers as well investments into oil tankers. TMT has a number of business partners and charters from companies like Chevron and COA, for crude oil transport and cement transport. In February 2017 it was revealed that in 2013 he ran afoul of US trade sanctions against Iran.

Legal issues

In June 2013 Su filed for US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after being put under pressure by Taiwanese creditors, then in 2015 appealed a $47m judgement against him in a long-standing case against Lakatamia. In March 2019 Su was found guilty in London of 15 out of the 17 counts of contempt of court with which he was charged and is now serving a 21-month prison sentence at the category 'B' HM Prison Pentonville in Islington, north London. In July 2021, he was sentenced with another two years for contempt of court.

Pan-Asian activism

Through TMT, he has invested in a number of regional shipping companies and ship construction companies. Su has stated that he plans to expand the reach of Asian companies into other investments and markets, with a plan to invest in a liquefaction company in São Tomé and Principe to produce natural gas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Su, Nobu Keio University alumni Living people Taiwanese businesspeople Year of birth missing (living people)