Marine fuel seller Monjasa has reported a surge in applications for its trainee programme, with 1,530 candidates applying worldwide for the 2025 intake — a 97% increase compared to the average of 777 yearly applications received between 2020 and 2024.

Nine trainees began the eighth edition of the Monjasa Oil & Shipping Trainee (MOST) programme on September 15, attending their first classes at the Danish Shipping Education in Copenhagen. The programme spans locations across Singapore, Dubai, Copenhagen, Fredericia, Panama, Houston, and New York.

The two-year programme combines academic learning through the Danish Shipping Education with practical experience in marine fuel trading operations. Participants undertake two global rotations across Monjasa offices in Dubai, Denmark, Panama, Singapore, China, and the United States.

"We are excited to see this surge in applications for the MOST programme. Shipping holds unique opportunities to build an international career, experience new cultures, and personally connect with people in every port," said Group HR Director Tracy Palm.

Palm attributed the increase to enhanced global recruitment campaigns and growing industry awareness of the programme. "With no obvious recruitment channels for trading marine fuels, we build upon the influx of new talent, and this year we have further targeted and enhanced our global recruitment campaigns," she said.

The 2025 cohort includes trainees positioned as traders and operators across the company's international network. Keane Wong joins as a trader in Singapore, while Leonidas Bang and Kevin Joshua Naidoo are based in Dubai as trader and operator respectively. In Europe, Nicolaj Østergaard Andersen takes a trader role in Copenhagen, with Jonathan Jacobsen and Mads Harders Pedersen both joining as traders in Fredericia.

The Americas are represented by Diego Cohen Henriquez as a trader in Panama, George Englehart in Houston, and Alexander Smith in New York, both in trading positions.

The programme currently numbers 21 enrolled trainees across 10 Monjasa offices worldwide, according to the company.