United Offshore Support GmbH (“UOS”) has announced that it has completed its acquisition of the commercial and technical-nautical management businesses of both UOS United Offshore Support GmbH & Co KG and Hartmann Offshore GmbH & Co KG.

Since the acquisition was announced in July 2018, the management and staff of both companies have been working to bring the two organizations under the UOS brand, which is based in Leer, Germany.

UOS is led by Chief Executive Howard Woodcock, who joined the company in August 2018. Howard has over 35 years’ experience in the shipping, marine, and offshore oil & gas sectors, and prior to joining UOS spent 13 years as Chief Executive of Bibby Offshore, a leading provider of subsea services to the oil & gas industry, that he helped grow from a start-up to a recognized regional tier-one contractor.

At the same time Howard joined UOS, Carsten Plougmann Andersen was also appointed as Non-Executive Chairman. Carsten is an experienced senior executive in the international shipping sector and from 2004 to 2015 was Group Senior Vice President at A.P. Moller-Maersk and Chief Executive of Maersk Supply Service, a leading provider of global offshore marine services. Since 2015, Carsten has run his own oil & gas services and maritime transportation consultancy firm, C.PLAN Consultants.

UOS manages a fleet of 13 modern, high-powered anchor handlers working for oil companies, drilling companies and other end users on a global basis. Hayfin Capital Management and Breakwater Capital acquired the fleet in October 2017 as part of a transaction to recapitalize an 11-strong fleet of Moss 424 Design Anchor Handlers, formerly owned by the Hartmann Group, to which two UT 786 CD type vessels acquired from E.R. Offshore were added in March 2018.

Howard Woodcock, Chief Executive of UOS, commented: “Following the completion of this transaction, UOS is well-positioned to capitalize on improving market conditions and continuing expanding the fleet. We now have in place a highly-experienced team, committed shareholders and a strong financial base to support our plans to grow the business internationally.”