Pacific Basin Shipping’s chief financial officer is quitting, a little more than a year after taking up the post.
The Hong Kong-listed shipowner confirmed the departure of former Maersk veteran Michael Tonnes Jorgensen in a regulatory filing.
The handysize and supramax specialist said he was leaving for “personal and family reasons” and is due to step down by the end of October.
Jorgensen confirmed that he has no disagreement with the shipowner, and he is not aware of any matter that needs to be brought to the attention of shareholders in respect of his resignation, Pacific Basin said.
Chief executive Martin Fruergaard will be interim CFO until a replacement is appointed.
The company said senior management had been instructed to start the search for Jorgensen’s successor.
“The board would like to express its gratitude to Mr Jorgensen for his efforts and his valuable contribution to the company,” it said.
Jorgensen, who began his career in shipping with AP Moller-Maersk in 1985 as a trainee, took over as CFO at Pacific Basin in July 2023 after the departure of Peter Shulz, who had held the post since 2017.
Between 1988 and 1994, Jorgensen held junior financial management positions in France and Denmark before becoming general manager and chief financial officer of Maersk Russia.
From 1995 to 2008 he held various positions within the Maersk group, including a stint as chief finance officer at Maersk Air Group.
He then moved for six years to Norden, where he was CFO, leaving in 2016 to serve as an independent management consultant and an external lecturer at Copenhagen Business School.
Less than a year later, he was back in shipping, joining Asyad Shipping Co and Asyad Drydock Co in 2017 as group CFO.
He also served as acting chief executive from 2019 to 2020 of Asyad Shipping Co, which operates a diverse fleet comprising VLCCs, gas carriers, product and chemical tankers, bulkers and container ships.
Pacific Basin has a fleet of 321 vessels: 171 supramaxes and 150 handysizes. However, more than half of that fleet is short-term chartered.
