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Danish marine fuels company A/S Dan-Bunkering Ltd has confirmed that it has hired five former traders of rival bankrupt firm OW Bunker and opened a new office in Aalborg - the same municipality as OW Bunker's headquarters.

Speaking to Bunker Index today, Dan-Bunkering's chief executive officer (CEO), Henrik Zederkof, confirmed that the firm had employed five members of staff that previously worked for OW Bunker's trading team in Aalborg.

Zederkof also said that Dan-Bunkering is currently in talks with other former employees of OW Bunker as part of its expansion strategy.

Although Zederkof did not provide the names of the five former OW Bunker traders in the telephone conversation, he did say that the new appointments would begin the process of informing their market contacts next week.

Statement

The words from Zederkof follow the release of an emailed statement earlier today, where Dan-Bunkering said: "The global bunker company, A/S Dan-Bunkering Ltd., expands its activities with an additional office in Denmark."

In the email, Zederkov remarked: "Dan-Bunkering Aalborg will comprise a team of 5 strong and experienced traders and we are immensely proud that they have chosen to become a part of the Dan-Bunkering family.

"We are pleased about the many enquiries we have had from competent and experienced traders, and we are in fact working on expanding the team in Aalborg further. In addition, we are aiming at expanding our activities in various other locations around the world."

The company added: "We have employed our first trading team in Aalborg and expect to be ready to trade as soon as 1st December, when Dan-Bunkering Aalborg opens."

First marine fuels company to confirm OW Bunker appointments

Dan-Bunkering is the first marine fuels company to publicly confirm the appointment of former employees of OW Bunker.

Earlier this month, Steen Møller, Managing Director of Nordic Marine Oil, said that his firm was also interested in hiring former OW Bunker staff.

"Both we and others are ready to take over parts of the workforce and turnover, and in our view it is urgent to re-establish confidence in the Danish industry," he commented in an emailed statement on November 11.

On Thursday, Tonny Skovsted Thorup, Business Manager at BusinessAalborg - an initiative with a mission to support growth and jobs in Aalborg - told Danish newspaper Berlingske: "Many of the [OW Bunker] employees are of interest to related industries. We have a lot of trading companies dealing with electricity and food and so on, and we have received many inquiries from several in Aalborg, who are interested in OW Bunker's employees."

With the opening of its office in Aalborg, Dan-Bunkering now has a total of 10 offices worldwide - in Middelfart, Copenhagen, Aalborg, Kaliningrad, Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore, Monaco, Houston, and Dubai.