Broström AB and Maersk Tankers Merge

The board of Broström AB has proposed a new organisational structure for the Swedish based tanker company, in connection with the merger of the activities with the Maersk Tankers activities.
The purpose is to ensure that Broström will continue as a strong brand and further build on the Broström heritage. The new setup means that all vessels in the segment below 25,000-dwt from both companies will trade under the Broström name, commercially managed from Gothenburg, Sweden.
It also means that all vessels above 25,000-dwt, except for tonnage managed out of Broström’s Paris office, are intended to be integrated into Handy tankers, which is Maersk Tankers commercial vehicle in this segment. The Handy tanker pool is managed from Copenhagen, Denmark.
All technical and support functions in Broström and Handy tankers are intended to be integrated with Maersk Tankers’ central organisation in order to have a cost-effective organisation.
“With this business model we will create two leading brands within the product tanker industry and have a lean organisational structure strengthening our competitiveness”, says Kristian Mørch, Chief Operating Officer of Maersk Tankers.
“The current state of the global economy represents extraordinary challenges in all industries, and as others we also have to reduce our costs significantly to remain competitive and make sure that we have the strongest possible platform for engaging those challenges”.  He said the oil industry needs more flexible transportation solutions because of the world’s increased demand for energy, and the dislocation between consumption and production of energy.
“We can offer a superior worldwide service by having a large homogenous fleet, and this merger enables us to combine the strengths and scale of Maersk Tankers and Broström. In addition, with a large fleet we can optimize our vessels so we on average end up discharging our cargoes closer to the next load port, and thereby increase utilization”, says Mørch.