Nor-Shipping 2027 Thought Leader – Leif O. Høegh, CHAIR, Höegh Autoliners

With plans to celebrate his family’s 100 years in shipping in 2027, Leif O. Høegh (CHAIR Höegh Autoliners) takes a moment to reflect on the company’s bold, ‘first mover’ legacy.

In 1927, a young Norwegian entrepreneur named Leif Høegh ordered his first vessel, a tanker named Varg. Backed by the legendary Danish shipowner A.P Møller, the fledgling company survived the Great Depression (and later, World War II) to operate a small fleet of oil tankers. But by the 1960s, the company began to diversify, entering new shipping segments.

“Not all these investments paid off,” admits CHAIR Leif O. Høegh. “Over the years, we have been involved in everything from cargo ships to LPG carriers, passenger ships to fishing trawlers, and many other projects now lost in the mist of time. In fact, the company has only accumulated capital in maybe the last 20 years of our history.”

Learning from experience While Høegh acknowledges the company’s history sometimes saddled the company with excess debt, he insists that the company’s willingness to take risks in people, technology and commercial solutions has been the key to its success. “If you don’t take any risks, you don’t learn anything,” he says. “And in today’s environment, as much as in any of the last 100 years, being willing to go first can be an advantage.”

This story was originally published by Hellenic Shipping News. Read the full story at Hellenic Shipping News →