After almost seven years as Chief Executive of United Arab Shipping Company (UASC), Jørn Hinge has decided to step down.

However the 67-year old executive will wait until the merger between UASC and German carrier Hapag-Lloyd is complete before executing the decision, meaning the CEO will leave his post at UASC's Dubai headquarters in the first quarter of 2017.

Before his 1994 start at UASC as COO, Hinge had a long career at the once-major Danish carrier ØK where he began his career in 1966. Hinge has thus been involved with UASC for over two decades through a period in which the carrier has grown to small regional player and then into a global carrier with some of the world's largest container vessels in its fleet.

The ultra-large vessels were delivered at a time when volumes stagnated and rates, in particular along the Europe - Far East trade, declined to a historic low-point which resulted in a massive deficit of several years. According to several observers, this was the reason the carrier's owners ultimately decided to merge with another carrier.

Retirement looks like the next move for Hinge, where he can think about matters beyond shipping after spending five decades in the industry.

"Now I can spend more time with my family," says Hinge in a comment to ShippingWatch about the decision, which also means that he is moving from Dubai.

His new address has not yet been settled, but with a summer house in Denmark and a property in the UK, it is almost certain that one of the two countries will become his new home. And given that Hinge is married to a Brazilian, trips to South America are likely also on the cards. The CEO also has three grown children and two grandchildren.

Mini-Maersk

In an interview with ShippingWatch three years ago, prominent board member Sheikh Ali described UASC as a "mini-Maersk" due to the number of former Maersk employees working there. However, the six countries which owned UASC up until two years ago which have largely characterized the work culture and, according to many insiders speaking to ShippingWatch, this influence has also made some call it quits. 

In 2014, Qatar raised its ownership stake to just over 50 percent. Until then, the governments of Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Iraq owned a 19.3 percent stake each and Bahrain the remaining 3.5 percent.

With Hapag-Lloyd's takeover of the Arabian carrier, which was finalized at the German carrier's general assembly in August earlier this year, it is likely Jørn Hinge will not be the last senior executive to leave the carrier's Dubai offices. UASC's headquarters are relocating to Hamburg, where the German carrier is based, and although Dubai will still represent the focal point of the UASC business set to be included in the merger, there will ultimately not be a need for as many employees in Dubai as there are today.

Hapag-Lloyd's shareholders put pressure on Habben Jansen

UASC gambled on ultra-large vessels and lost

First UASC financial figures reveal massive losses