EuropeOffshore

AP Moller-Maersk takes Maersk Supply Service off the market

AP Moller-Maersk has decided to keep a hold of its offshore support vessel company Maersk Supply Service.

Maersk Supply Service was put up for sale by Maersk as part of a strategy to offload all of its oil and gas related assets and become a pure-play container specialist. Maersk Oil has already been sold to Total for $7.45bn, while Maersk Drilling has been demerged in preparation for an upcoming IPO.

Maersk said that three years of distress in the sector and lower asset values had a negative impact on its ability to find a buyer.

Claus Hemmingsen, Vice CEO of AP Moller-Maersk, commented: “We have over the past two years been investigating various structural solutions for Maersk Supply Service. However, having been unable to establish any solutions meeting our objective of creating shareholder value, we have decided to retain Maersk Supply Service.

“Maersk Supply Service launched a new strategic direction in the autumn of 2016 as a response to the downturn, which is positioning the company stronger and with a more robust and differentiated platform to compete from, when we eventually see a recovery within their core markets in the Oil & Gas space.”

A change in business plan for Maersk Supply Service has resulted in around 30% of its revenue in 2018 generated from new and diverse business including offshore wind, ocean cleaning and deep-sea mining.

“Our diversification initiatives are building presence in other markets and enable us to be less dependent on the traditional Oil & Gas market in the future. Our 44-vessel fleet has an average age of less than ten years and supports our integrated solutions offerings. With our modern fleet and skilled people, we are well positioned to take advantage of market opportunities in the future and differentiate us from our peers,” said Steen S. Karstensen, CEO of Maersk Supply Service.

Grant Rowles

Grant spent nine years at Informa Group based in London, Sydney, Hong Kong and Singapore. He gained strong management experience in publishing, conferences and awards schemes in the shipping and legal areas, working on a number of titles including Lloyd's List. In 2009 Grant joined Seatrade responsible for the commercial development of Seatrade’s Asia products. In 2012, with Sam Chambers, he co-founded Asia Shipping Media.
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