Carnival Cruise Line announced today that it has appointed Lars Ljoen as its new executive vice president of marine operations, according to a press release.

Ljoen is currently the executive vice president and managing director of Carnival Maritime, the marine service unit of the Costa Group in Hamburg, Germany.

Ljoen will be responsible for overseeing all of Carnival Cruise Line’s marine operations, including nautical and technical operations, environmental compliance and safety. He will be succeeding Martin Landtman, Carnival’s senior vice president of marine operations, who will be retiring from Carnival in June.

“Lars has the leadership skills and experience to further drive continuous improvement and operational excellence in marine operations across our fleet,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “Having run Costa Group’s maritime unit, Lars will bring vast knowledge, passion and enthusiasm to this role and we are excited to welcome him to the team.”

Ljoen  joined the Costa Group in 2015 as senior vice president and was promoted to executive vice president and managing director in 2016. At Costa, he was responsible for fleet governance, Marine Projects and continuous improvement initiatives. From 2005 to 2015, Ljoen headed the development of business strategies for Ceres Marine Terminals (NYK Ports) in Miami. Prior to that, he was director of marine operations at Royal Caribbean Cruises.

A native Norwegian, Ljoen began his career on supply vessels and tankers in the North Sea offshore industry.

“There is strong collaboration among the brands at Carnival Corporation and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to step into this leadership role at Carnival Cruise Line, working closely with the seasoned team of maritime professionals,” said Ljoen.