The history of Maersk Broker

Maersk Broker was founded in 1914 by Mr A.P. Møller and reaffirmed by his son, Mr Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller. When we first started, we were a small, independent Danish shipbroking operation, but since then, we have come a long way in terms of business volume and global reach. 

Founded in 1914

The history of Maersk Broker began in the first days of January 1913, where A.P. Møller established his own offices in the old stock exchange in Copenhagen. Initially, the activities included management of the fleets and the business of The Steamship Company Svendborg and The Steamship Company of 1912. To begin with, our entire staff consisted of only five employees who worked out of offices in Copenhagen’s old stock exchange building, but today, we are present in 15 countries with more than 250 employees.

 

The framework for today’s Maersk Broker

The framework for today’s Maersk Broker was laid down in 1914 when A.P. Møller took out a licence to trade in his own name as a merchant. He established two separate broker companies – A.P. Møller Køb & Salg (A.P. Møller Sale and Purchase) and Befragtning & Klarering (Chartering & Agency). These activities were independent from the two steamship companies. The chartering activities included finding cargo for the Steamship Companies’ and A.P. Møller’s own ships, but they also did competitive chartering at the same time. A.P. Møller Sale and Purchase was also doing well from the start with a great number of deals during 1914. 

our history maersk broker

Passing on the proud heritage of the Maersk family

In 1965, Mr Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller took over the company after the passing of his father, and for 105 years, Maersk Broker was governed by the Maersk family. However, in 2019, Ane Mærsk Mc-Kinney Uggla, granddaughter of the founder, retired after being in the board of directors for 24 years – the last 9 years as chairman of the company. Kristian V. Mørch is the new chairman of the board, and he continues to lead Maersk Broker with passion, effort and loyalty.

Even though Maersk Broker is no longer governed by the Maersk family, to this day, the Møller family is still the private owner. In this connection, it is very important for us to balance our proud tradition and heritage with the demanding requirements of modern ship brokerage in a never-ending effort to be recognised by customers as their first choice.

 

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