Erik Thun Group
Founded in 1938 by Helge Källsson in Lidköping, Erik Thun Group is a third-generation family-owned shipping company with a long-term commitment to reliable, cost-efficient, and sustainable maritime transport.
About Erik Thun Group
Our fleet of around 50 vessels operates primarily in short sea shipping across Northern Europe, spanning dry cargo, product tankers, and cement carriers.
Our operations are structured across specialised segments and business areas:
- Thun Tankers in Gothenburg manages our coastal and intermediate-size product tankers.
- Dry Cargo in Lidköping manages our conventional dry cargo ships.
- JT Cement AS in Norway manages our cement carriers except for M/V Vestanhav.
- OP Ship AB, our shipbroker and port agency, complements our logistics offering.
Our vision remains unchanged:
“A Sustainable Swedish Partner over Generations.”
We are guided by values of being long-term, responsible, and committed—principles that shape every vessel we launch and every partnership we build.
The Story of Erik Thun Group
In 1938 Helge Källsson founded the Erik Thun Group together with the Thun family. Today it is an established family company, involving a third generation.
It all started when Helge Källsson came to Lidköping in 1931, at the age of 25, to work for a Lidköping shipowning business as a charterer. His employer, Erik Thun, suffered from tuberculosis, and in his absence, Helge was soon managing the whole operation.
When Erik Thun died in 1938, the business was inherited by a mix of family and employees. The business was now formally registered as a joint stock company, bearing the name of its former owner. Helge Källsson was the obvious choice for manager. In the years that followed he expanded the company and gradually bought out other minority owners.
By the 1960s Helge Källsson had a veritable majority of the shares. His enterprising spirit led the company into a variety of business areas. Although dry cargo and tank shipping were always at the core of the enterprise, the other business areas ranged from shipyard to coal merchants and trucking business.
In the 1980s the portfolio was trimmed back to the core of the business to maintain the focus. In 1987 Helge was succeeded by his eldest son Jan as the managing director. During the 1990s, the tanker business merged into Untied Tankers, and for Erik Thun Group the focus was laid on the dry cargo part of the shipping business. In 1999 the G-class tanker vessels were ordered.
In 2004 Jan was succeeded by his brother Anders.
Shipping has to this day remained the core business, but other ventures have also been pursued. In the 1990s, the Erik Thun Group established a local estate business. This was sold in 2014. In 1993 the airline Golden Air was acquired, and grew to become the largest Swedish-owned airline. It was sold in 2012, and continued under the name Braathens Regional. In 2003 the meat processing company Direkt Chark was added to the Group.
In 2012 the Erik Thun Group became full owner of 13 coastal product tankers, which we had previously owned jointly with shipowner Broström/Maersk. This meant going back into commercial management of tankers, for the first time in 18 years.
In 2013 the Erik Thun Group celebrated its 75th anniversary. Two of Helge Källsson’s grandchildren, Johan Källsson and Henrik Källsson were also appointed Deputy Managing Directors, bringing the family business into the third generation. Erik Thun celebrated its 75th anniversary in Lysekil being the main sponsor for Lysekil Women’s Match.
In May 2019, Johan Källsson was appointed Managing Director by the Board of Directors after Anders Källsson chose to retire.
