Leif-Christian Östergård Appointed CEO of Aboa Mare
Leif-Christian Östergård has been appointed CEO of Aboa Mare Ltd, the maritime training provider specialising in professional development and continuing education for the international shipping industry.
Having worked within both the maritime sector and Aboa Mare’s operations for many years, Östergård brings significant industry knowledge to the role. His ambition is to further develop the company alongside its employees while helping customers address the shipping industry’s rapidly changing competency requirements.
According to Östergård, Aboa Mare’s greatest strengths include its experienced staff, customer-focused approach and extensive collaboration with national and international partners. He emphasised that close cooperation with customers enables the company to tailor training programmes that meet current and future needs.
The company combines online learning, simulator training and practical exercises to deliver flexible training solutions for maritime professionals worldwide, allowing course participants to develop their skills regardless of location.
Chairman Örjan Andersson highlighted Aboa Mare’s strong development in recent years and expressed confidence that Östergård’s in-depth understanding of both the company and the maritime training market will support its continued growth.
Östergård has a broad maritime background. He began his career at sea as a deckhand before advancing to deck officer positions on RoRo vessels. Following his seagoing career, he moved into maritime education, working with cadet programmes, training course sales, marketing and business development. He holds qualifications as a Master Mariner and a Master of Science in Economics and Business Administration. He has been part of Aboa Mare since 2025.
Aboa Mare offers a wide range of specialised maritime training programmes, including simulator-based training, alternative fuels and IGF Code, Bridge Resource Management (BRM), Engine Resource Management (ERM), Polar Code, EcoTraining, sustainability and azimuth propulsion courses. Its customers include shipowners, ports, shipyards and other maritime industry stakeholders.
The appointment comes at a time when shipping is undergoing rapid transformation driven by digitalisation, alternative fuels, increasing safety requirements and growing sustainability demands. These developments are creating both new competency requirements and new opportunities for delivering maritime training on a global scale.
Source: Aboa Mare Ltd.
