Since 1996 he has served as director of Stolt-Nielsen Limited (SNL),[2] a company with principal operations in parcel tankers, bulk-liquid storage, tank containers and aquaculture.
He joined Stolt-Nielsen Limited in 1990 beginning as a shipbroker in Greenwich, Connecticut and then as a round-voyage manager.
[6] He served as interim chief executive officer of Stolt Offshore S.A. from September 2002 until March 2003.
He held the position of chief executive officer of Stolt Sea Farm from 1996 until September 2001.
In 2001 Niels Stolt-Nielsen notified Norwegian authorities that he was living abroad having his residence in London and stopped paying taxes in Norway.