FRANKFURT (Reuters) - TUI (TUIGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) on Monday appointed a supervisory board member close to one of its big Russian shareholders, hampering plans by its largest shareholder to gain two seats on the supervisory board.

TUI (TT.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said Vladimir Yakushev, managing partner of shareholder Alexei Mordashov's S-Group Capital Management, will replace Franz Vranitzky, who resigned.

Mordashov holds about 10 percent of shares in TUI and has said he plans a tourism joint venture with TUI in Russia.

TUI, the Anglo-German tourism and container shipping firm, said its offer of one supervisory board seat to John Fredriksen, the Norwegian shipping magnate who is TUI's biggest shareholder, with 11.7 percent of shares, still stands.

But a spokesman for Fredriksen, who wants to steer the company away from its twin-pillar strategy of tourism and shipping, says Frederiksen still thinks he can get two seats on TUI's supervisory board.

A key issue for Frederiksen is that he wants supervisory board chief Juergen Krumnow to leave, the spokesman told Reuters. Frederiksen does not plan a judicial fight over the issue, the spokesman said.

Fredriksen said in an interview over the weekend he might sell his stake if his motions to replace the two supervisory board members were rejected at the annual shareholders' meeting on May 7.

TUI said in a statement on Monday: "Against the background of the appointment of Vladimir Yakushev, TUI AG's Supervisory Board and Executive Board emphasize the fact that TUI AG continues to be open for a further reshuffle of the Supervisory Board."

TUI said earlier this month it planned to approach potential buyers in late May or early June for its Hapag-Lloyd container shipping division.