APRIL 21, 2015—Starting May 1 there shall be a brand new identify in maritime salvage and emergency response—Ardent. The new firm shall be 50/50 owned by Crowley Maritime Corporation, Jacksonville, FL, and Svitzer, Ijmuiden, the Netherlands, after the 2 firms struck a deal to merge their salvage operations.
Ardent’s government administration workforce will be led by CEO Peter Pietka; with Jeff Andreini, CFO; Renier van den Bichelaer, Chief Commercial Officer; Paul van’t Hof, COO; and Chris Peterson, Merger Manager.
Pietka, the previous CEO of Svitzer Salvage, says Ardent “will become an industry leader in wreck removal and emergency response. Further, while remaining integral to our new company, emergency response and wreck removal will be part of a wider ecosystem of services. We have come together to build a more modern and effective offering for the maritime sector.”
Svitzer Salvage, is a component of the Svitzer Group, a main towage and marine salvage firm that’s, in flip, a part of the Maersk Group. Svitzer Salvage is headquartered in Ijmuiden, the Netherlands, however has key response facilities positioned around the globe together with within the U.S., Singapore, South Africa, Australia, and Brazil.
Meanwhile, Titan Salvage is an entirely owned subsidiary of Crowley Maritime. It is headquartered in Houston, TX, and might be finest identified for its work on the elevating of the Costa Concordia, one of the vital technically difficult and most costly salvage tasks in historical past. Since 1980, Titan has carried out greater than 450 salvage and emergency response tasks and has places of work within the U.Okay., Singapore, and Australia.
Chris Peterson, Vice President of Titan Salvage, provides, “This merger brings together some of the most experienced, highly regarded salvage experts in the world. Our combined strength means we can provide a stronger network in key global locations.”
To be headquartered in Houston, Ardent may also have operational places of work in the Netherlands, the U.Okay. and Singapore. Ardent may also have supporting places of work in Australia, Brazil, South Korea, Greece, South Africa, and different areas.
“Ardent will serve as a strong platform for organic growth and new expansion opportunities in complementary businesses such as underwater services and offshore decommissioning,” says Pietka. “Structured for growth and diversification, we will create new opportunities for the company and its employees.”
In latest years, Svitzer has targeted on being the loss mitigation companion for the marine trade via its preparedness division and emergency response companies. “The creation of the new company with Titan is the next step to becoming the safe choice for the industry,” says Pietka.
Ardent will start working May 1 as one authorized and monetary entity underneath a singular administration workforce, after which there shall be a quick transitional interval during which the 2 salvage firms combine all of their operational methods together with IT, HSEQ, monetary, industrial and operations. During this transitional interval all clients ought to initially proceed to contact Titan or Svitzer Salvage by way of current telephone numbers and e-mail addresses.
