Page 18: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (October 2025)

INTERVIEW

CARSTEN

LUND

STEPS UP:

SunStone

Maritime Group’s

Next Generation

Image courtesy Sunstone

From a career in aviation to a career in maritime, Carsten Lund took over recently as the head of Sunstone Maritime Group, a ubiquitous brand in the expedition cruise sector that was created and built for more than 35 years by his father Niels-Erik Lund. The gradual transition of leadership has been three years in the making for Sunstone, and today Carsten and his brother Christian Lund, COO, sit at the helm.

He shares with Maritime Reporter TV his vision for the future of the company, including a status on the new series of Boundless class ships, with the aim of signing a shipbuilding contract by year’s end.

By Greg Trauthwein hen Carsten Lund was appointed CEO of Sun- thought I would have a career in the maritime industry.”

Stone Maritime Group in July, the promotion His vantage point, however, allowed him to watch Sun-

W was more of a formality than a turning point. For Stone grow from a ? edgling ship management venture into a more than a year, Lund and his brother had already been steer- specialized powerhouse under his father’s leadership. In 2021, ing the family-owned business founded by their father, mari- Niels-Erik called a family meeting to discuss the company’s time veteran Niels-Erik Lund. Yet the transition still marked future. With retirement approaching, the options were clear: the end of an era and the start of a new chapter for a company sell the company, bring in an outside CEO, or transition lead- that, over the past 35 years, has grown into the world’s largest ership to the next generation.

tonnage provider to the expedition cruise industry. Carsten and his brother did not take the decision lightly.

For Carsten, the path to the helm was far from straightfor- “We were both of the opinion that either we go all in, both ward. Unlike his brother, who joined the company in 2008, he of us, or we don’t do it at all,” he said. After weeks of delib- charted a different course before entering maritime—one that eration, they committed to carrying forward the family legacy. began in the skies. Carsten left his aviation career, joined SunStone full time in “I spent 20 years in aviation, working in air traf? c control 2022, and began a gradual transition of responsibilities.

in Copenhagen,” Carsten explains. “In my early days, I never That measured approach has paid off. “By the time I was 18 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • October 2025

MR #10 (18-33).indd 18 MR #10 (18-33).indd 18 10/1/2025 1:44:58 PM10/1/2025 1:44:58 PM