Shipbroker Galbraiths has expanded its specialised tanker arm by opening a new office in Norway that was previously controlled by rival shop Simpson Spence Young (SSY).
The company told TradeWinds that the Bergen-based company will be headed by Halfdan Kuhnle. He joins from SSY where he headed the European specialised team since 2015.
Galbraiths said Kuhnle’s Bergen-based, former SSY colleague Henrik Steen-Hansen will also be joining the new tanker group.
Grieg Shipbrokers' Henrik Steimler will also join in Bergen to bring the broker tally at the new office to three, which added to the London-based team will give Galbraiths seven brokers working on specialised tankers.
Quiet growth
Galbraiths announced it was starting a specialised tanker desk at its London headquarters in July 2021, in what chief executive Bjorn Andersen said was a signal of the company’s “quiet but effective expansion”.
At the time, the company took on Braemar ACM Shipbroker's James Curran and made two internal moves to launch the new arm, later adding a fourth staff member on operations.
The company told this publication that the latest hires add “significant experience and gravitas with Kuhnle widely recognised as a market leading chemicals veteran”.
Andersen commented: “We are continuously looking to widen our client offering and the addition of Halfdan, Henrik and Henrik in a new Bergen office shows our ambition to continue our growth strategy in the specialised sector in an important strategic shipping location.
He added: “We believe Galbraiths offers an exciting platform for talent to thrive and look forward to making further expansion announcements shortly.”
