Maersk Product Tankers names Claus Gronborg new CEO

Gronborg takes over the leadership of Maersk Product Tankers on October 1 from Christian M. Ingerslev. Gronborg will remain Chief Investment Officer of Maersk Tankers and a member of the executive team. 

Ingerslev will continue as CEO of Maersk Tankers and become a member of the Maersk Product Tankers board of directors.

As CEO of Maersk Product Tankers, Gronborg will be responsible for delivering the company’s fleet strategy, which has vessel safety, reliability and efficiency at its core, and optimising value for owners A.P. Moller Holding and Mitsui & Co.

“I am passionate about the dynamics of the tanker market and the industry plays an important role in global trade and the world economy. I am looking forward to providing Maersk Product Tankers’ customers with reliable transportation solutions for their cargoes and optimising value for owners,” says Gronborg, who has more than two decades of experience in the shipping industry.

Gronborg’s appointment comes at a time when the tanker market is experiencing disruption to trade flows as supply and demand patterns change. Tankers help to keep the global energy system functioning, and product tanker rates and asset prices have climbed to extraordinarily high levels this year. Maersk Product Tankers predicts that rates will remain high over the coming years due to strong demand from changing trade flows and the limited number of new tanker vessels on order.

Gronborg has deep expertise of the volatile tanker market, having worked both with vessel ownership and management. He is also spearheading Maersk Tankers’ new investment, with a particular focus on creating solutions that help shipowners boost earnings and cut the industry’s carbon emissions.

“Claus has many years of solid experience in the tanker market and has a strong understanding of the investment cycles within shipping. I am very much looking forward to working with him in his new capacity,” says Martin Larsen, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Maersk Product Tankers.

The Maersk Product Tankers fleet consists of 52 vessels and is commercially managed by Maersk Tankers, while Synergy Group undertakes the technical management. The three parties work together to ensure that vessels are deployed and operated optimally to boost economic and environmental performance.

For the past three years, Claus Gronborg has been managing the Maersk Product Tankers fleet. Previously, he held executive positions, including Chief Commercial Officer and Vice President of Business Development, at Maersk Tankers.

Gronborg holds a bachelor’s degree in Chinese from Beijing Language and Culture University and an Executive MBA from Columbia Business School/London Business School.

From 1 October 2022, the Maersk Product Tankers Board of Directors will consist of Chairman Martin Larsen, A.P. Moller Holding; Christian M. Ingerslev, Maersk Tankers; Birgitte Schou, A.P. Moller Holding; and Tatsuya Okamoto, Mitsui & Co.