Prominent VLCC broker David Collins is the latest high-profile name to emerge on the payroll of growth-minded London outfit Oil Brokerage.
Collins is a 34-year shipping veteran who worked most recently as global tankers head at shipbroker Braemar.
He tendered a shock resignation in March, saying he was embarking on six months of gardening leave.
Major figure
With that leave ending, Collins is set to take up a post as Oil Brokerage’s head of projects on Tuesday, executives at the London outfit told TradeWinds this week.
Before his six years at Braemar, Collins had made his name with a 22-year stint at Clarksons.
He became one of its youngest directors at 25, spearheaded its VLCC brokering efforts and moved on to head its fledgling Geneva office.
In a joint interview this week, Oil Brokerage chief executive James McNicol and head of shipbroking Nick Mahoney discussed the new hire.
Mahoney said: “After six years with Braemar, he decided he wanted a new challenge.”
“We were lucky to have the discussion with David to join OB and head our project desk,” referring to Oil Brokerage as OB.
Mahoney added that the brokerage had some “high-fixing and high-earning brokers” and it was beneficial to add to the experience within the team.
He continued: “We’re adding layers of experience as a group that will allow us to grow further over the next five to 10 years.”
McNicol said: “A little grey in the hair does not harm anyone.”
Collins, now 52, becomes the latest in a wave of hires of rival tanker brokers that began in June 2022, as McNicol — a former Trafigura trader — and Oil Brokerage embarked on a goal to become a major player in tanker brokering.
Founded in 1989, Oil Brokerage has been a significant player in the physical and paper aspects of oil trading.
More moves have followed, including adding Mahoney to head the shipbroking team.
In October 2023, Oil Brokerage completed a long-mooted advance on the US market, hiring six crude brokers from privately owned house McQuilling Partners, which is headquartered on Long Island in New York.
Less than a month later, it hired three brokers from the Geneva office of Fearnleys.
Then at Posidonia in June, McNicol told TradeWinds that the firm is planning to open an office in Athens, adding to its presence in London, Singapore, Dubai, Houston and Geneva.
The news on Collins comes as TradeWinds has learned that BGC Group, the parent of New York broker and consultant Poten & Partners, is said to be in close discussions to buy Oil Brokerage from its owner OTC Global Holdings.
Market sources have suggested that even with a completed deal, Oil Brokerage and Poten are likely to remain independent entities. And Oil Brokerage’s executives sounded this week like they have no plans other than to continue the growth trajectory.
Mahoney said: “We are not sitting back. We are continuing to grow. We are still looking to open the office in Athens, and with David coming in, it opens up the S&P market, which will revolve around Greece for obvious reasons.”
Adding crude brokers in Singapore and developing a presence in both LNG and LPG are other priorities, the executives said.
