As part of Maersk Line’s massive restructuring it is switching its Asia headquarters from Singapore to Hong Kong. Its two Asia regions, Asia Pacific and North Asia, have become one.
Last November, Maersk Line, the world’s largest container carrier, outlined huge spending cuts including slashing its global headcount by at least 4,000 and nixing 240,000 teu of newbuild options.
Lars Mikael Jensen, who has headed up Maersk Line’s Asia Pacific operations from Singapore since 2014, returns to Copenhagen to take up a management position within the operations department.
The combined Asia Pacific Region – with regional head office in Hong Kong – will be headed by Robbert van Trooijen, a former P&O Nedlloyd employee.
A spokesperson for Maersk Line told Splash the changes were “in order to create a leaner, simpler and more focused commercial organisation”.
Singapore’s increasing costs have been cited in polls carried by this title as a very serious concern for foreign shipowners in the city-state. Maersk is Singapore’s largest shipowner in deadweight terms.
