Brothers Kristian and Hans Peter Jebsen are to divide the family silver in a move which will shock many in the shipping world.
Kristian Jebsen will assume control of open hatch specialist Gearbulk, while Hans Peter Jebsen will take on Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Skipsrederi (KGJS), it was announced this morning.
A statement says the move reflects a change in the brothers’ interests over time.
The Jebsens are keen to keep out of the limelight but the split is sure to spark rumours of a rift between them.
Attempts to reach both for comment were unsuccessful at the time of writing Monday.
As part of the separation Gearbulk has taken management of its vessels away from KGJS and set up its own shipmanagement company. Forty staff in Bergen will follow the same path.
Gearbulk - in which Japanese heavyweight MOL holds a 49% stake – boasts a fleet of 77 vessels.
OBO and tanker owner KGJS has 52 vessels in the water and a further nine newbuildings on order.
Hans Peter Jebsen has also taken on the family’s non-shipping investments.
Both Gearbulk and KGJS were formed by Kristian Gerhard Jebsen, the father of Kristian and Hans Peter, who died in 2004.
Kristian Gerhard Jebsen’s brother Atle died in a car crash last year. Their shipowning operations were divided in the 1960s.
