Lubmarine’s International Marine Key Account Manager for North America shares his career journey, customer‑first approach and views on supporting shipping through change.
When Michael Trapani, Lubmarine’s International Marine Key Account Manager for North America joined the Merchant Marine Academy (US) in New York in 2007 a career in the maritime industry wasn’t on his radar.
Some 20 years later, he is a driving force of Lubmarine’s growing North American business, working with Lubmarine’s wider team and partners to support its customers worldwide.We talk to Michael about his background, his role and how Lubmarine adds value to its North American customers.
Tell us about your journey into the Maritime Industry
You could say I entered the maritime industry, not through a passion for the sea originally, but instead through a passion for Lacrosse! I grew up on Long Island N.Y. and I was recruited into the United States Merchant Marine Academy (US) in Kings Point, New York to play Lacrosse.
Maritime wasn’t on my radar at that time. I loved Lacrosse and wanted to continue to play. Whilst there, I majored in Marine Systems Engineering with a minor in Nuclear Engineering.
I set sail in July 2008 on my first ship as a cadet on an American President Lines (APL) ship. APL was a subsidiary of CMA CGM. After achieving my US Coastguard Exam qualification and graduating in 2011, I began my sailing career and sailed for 18 months as a 3rd A/E serving on an articulated tug and barge with ice breaking capabilities, where my responsibilities included maintaining the engines and machinery.
One of my memories was just how bitterly cold it was as we were sailing on the Great Lakes over the winter. I realized two things - I truly love sailing, but I also love warm weather!
From those early days at sea – what was your route to Lubmarine?
As I said – I loved sailing and in particular the engineering side of it- but I was also interested in the corporate side of the maritime industry and saw my long-term career developing from this perspective – within a shore-side role.
With that in mind I took up opportunity to work as a Marine Application Engineer for a maritime chemicals company which saw me involved in the technical, marketing and product development areas of the business.
I would be undertaking analysis to spot trends and identify any issues or adjustments that needed to be made on a vessel, as well as coming up with new developments including ballast water treatment systems and potable water treatment systems.This also involved going on board for chemicals testing with crews, answering any questions and introducing new product innovations to them to them, developing trials and getting user feedback.
Then in 2014, I was approached by a leading maritime turbocharging manufacturer to become their East Coast Account Manager, working with shipping companies from Maine down to Georgia and all the way out to Minnesota (the Great Lakes and East Coast Shipping companies). I really learned a lot about the business side of shipping in this role, securing multi-million-dollar contracts with organizations including the US Navy.
It was during this time in late 2016 when Lubmarine approached me as they were looking for a Marine Manager. I officially joined Lubmarine in March of 2017. It’s such an intriguing and interesting part of the maritime industry and Lubmarine is recognised and respected for what it does on a global level.
Since 2017 my role within the business has grown. I was appointed Global Cruise Manager in 2020 as there is a global cruise market out of Florida. And then in September 2025 I became the Senior International Maritime Key Account Manager for North America, responsible for all the commercial and technical sales here in the US.
What does your role involve on a day‑to‑day basis, and what aspects of it do you enjoy the most?
I think it’s the multi-faceted nature of the role that I really love. Working closely with our customers to understand and meet their needs whilst achieving our own commercial goals and targets in what is a fluid and ever-evolving industry. For me personally, the number one thing in this role is building, maintaining and growing positive relationships with our customers. These relationships are our lifeblood, and that ‘trust’ is essential and a critical element of our business sustenance and development.
Behind our relationships - and really underpinning them - are extremely high levels of consistent quality right across our business – product quality, delivery quality, relationship quality. We add value to our clients through the combination of relationship, trust and service. The personal relationships are part of our core offer. But it’s also about the level of consistency across our team and whole supply chain. And that has allowed us to win more business because of our collective approach to customer service and products and logistics quality.
Which sectors of the shipping industry do you work with in North America?
We serve all the main shipping sectors here in North America – from containers and tankers through to cruise and offshore. North America is a large territory with a diverse maritime mix, so we have to be agile to navigate through the specific needs of each of our customers.
For example, the cruise industry is still a relatively new sector, but it is certainly a growing one – given the market operating out of Florida – and we have forged some great relationships with leading operators. It’s an exciting time in the cruise sector as they are at the forefront of the alternative fuels transition. We are supporting our cruise clients with a lot of forecasting and by ensuring we are getting our products to them, precisely where and when they need them.
What topics or challenges are most frequently coming up in your discussions with customers today?
As you can imagine, we have a lot of questions around the relationships between new fuels and lubricants. This is something we are actively supporting and will no doubt be increasingly supporting our customers with.
Lubmarine is at the forefront of the lubricants market globally with recent product advances - and more yet to come - that will not only support the new fuels transition but also meet demands for reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
When you are not at work – how do you spend your spare time?
We live on Long Island – so we live a very active and outdoor lifestyle. Summers are spent at the beach – fishing, boating and surfing with my kids. I also coach them in Lacrosse and American Football – with both playing at the national youth level for lacrosse.
We are a very sports-oriented family and this takes up a lot of our time. I believe sports instil good values and teach kids life lessons at a young age. We also like to go skiing in the winter season and head out into the Rockies and into Vermont.
