Braemar boss James Gundy has said his shipbroking group is not handling any sale-and-purchase business linked to the shadow fleet of tankers carrying sanctioned oil.
Hundreds of tankers have changed hands since Russia invaded Ukraine, and many of the new owners are unknown.
But the London-listed company has not been involved, Gundy told TradeWinds.
“We can’t. There are rules we have to go by. We are playing exactly by the rules,” the chief executive said.
He explained that everything has to be done in line with compliance and regulations.
“We have full teams checking everything, as do our clients,” Gundy added.
“The rules could change again and we have a full compliance team in the office to make sure everything is cross-checked,” the CEO said.
And Gundy added there is plenty of other business to be getting on with.
“We will do whatever we are allowed to do. We have to make sure we are compliant — as a broker that’s an important factor,” he said.
Rival London-listed broker Clarksons’ CEO Andi Case told TradeWinds earlier this month that his company is also not touching these deals.
And he had a strong message for brokers who are. “So people who think they can ignore the rules and still go out and do business, I say ‘more fool them’, and I hope they have a lot of sleepless nights and wake up with a knock on the door,” Case said.
All-round effort
Braemar is heading for its best-ever profit figure in the year ended 28 February, forecasting underlying operating profit of £20m ($24.5m).
“S&P and chartering are doing very well,” Gundy said.
The desks have been “exceptionally busy”, with Braemar “getting its fair share” of transactions, he added.
But he said: “The most important thing is not one single desk, everyone is helping. Even dry bulk has had a monster year in Australia, even with the market rates coming off. It’s an all-round team effort.”
Chief financial officer Nick Stone told TradeWinds that the securities desks have also done “very, very well”.
This is “partially out of the volatility that’s been caused by global events, but also because of the growth and additional people we’ve put in there,” he added.
