HONG KONG's Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) has announced its chief operating officer Andy Tung will succeed Philip Chow after his retirement as the new chief executive with effect from July 1.

Mr Tung will continue to be an executive director and a member of the executive committee of Orient Overseas (International) Ltd (OOIL), the parent company of OOCL, and managing director and a member of the executive committee of OOCL, said the company statement.

Mr Tung, nephew of Tung Chee-Chen, the chairman, president and CEO of OOIL Group, took the position of COO in January 2009. He has also served the group in various positions, including as director of reefer trade of OOCL between 1993 and 1998.

Mr Tung holds a bachelors from Princeton and an MBA from Stanford. He is currently a member of the executive committee of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association.

After stepping down as OOCL's chief executive, Mr Chow will stay at the carrier's parent company OOIL Group, in which he has served for more than 36 years, as a non-executive director.