Shipbroker Braemar has lost its global head of tankers, David Collins, just weeks after his colleague also left the company.
Well-known VLCC broker Collins told TradeWinds that he has resigned from the company and his position as global head of tankers.
Collins said the move is a “tough decision, but the right decision”.
James Gundy, chief executive of Braemar, said Collins and the company had “mutually parted”.
Gundy will now act as head of tankers, with future replacements likely to come from within the company.
Collins assured that he parts from Braemar and Gundy on “good terms” and as “good friends”.
“Braemar has a lot of potential and I hope one day it realises it,” he added.
Collins is now embarking on six months of gardening leave but said he will definitely be returning to work in the tanker sector.
He follows his colleague Nick Edwards, the other senior name on Braemar’s deepsea tankers desk, who resigned from Braemar two weeks ago.
Collins made a surprise return to shipbroking and his specialist area of the large tanker sector in 2018.
He joined what was then Braemar-ACM to work alongside Edwards as joint head of tankers.
Before this, Collins had worked at shipbroking giant Clarksons for 22 years, becoming one of its youngest directors at 25 and working his way up through the brokerage to head its Geneva office.
But he then took a two-year career break during which it was unclear if he would be returning to the industry.
Known for his passion for the industry and in-depth knowledge of the VLCC market, Collins was at the time seen as a good catch for Braemar as the brokerage built up its tanker team.
Tanker business is a significant part of Braemar’s revenue. Its latest financial details released in November last year said tankers accounted for 28% of revenue in fiscal 2023 and specialised tankers a further 11%.
