Two Hong Kong ship management companies, Anglo-Eastern and Univan, have announced their merger to form a new entity called the Anglo-Eastern Univan Group. The objective of this merger is to offer scale advantages to ship owners.
In the largest merger involving the third party ship management sector, two of biggest names Anglo-Eastern and Univan have come together to form a new company. The new entity is named as the Anglo-Eastern Univan Group with over 600 vessels under full management. This merged entity will have more than 1,700 shores based staff, 24,000 seafarers and 100 ships under its crew management. This has made possible under the leadership of Anglo-Eastern’s boss Peter Cremers. He would be holding the position of executive chairman and Univan chief Bjorn Hojgaard as CEO of the new Anglo-Eastern Univan Group.
Anglo-Eastern is among the top three global ship management companies. The company took off as a third party manager in 1974. Peter Cremers, Belgian executive with a degree in Naval Architecture and Marcel Liedts joined the management team in 1985. Under their leadership, the fleet steadily grew. Over a period, the company developed credibility for the first class safety and environmental standards. It underwent a management buy-out in 1998 and a merger with Denholm Ship Management in 2001. This merger led to the presence of the group in Europe.
Univan Ship Management was started by the late Captain C.A.J. Vanderperre. He is regarded as a father of ship management. Under his tutelage many successful ship management executives owe their careers today. The company saw significant change under the leadership of former Maersk Captain Bjorn Hojgaard, appointed as CEO in 2012. Currently, Univan has dedicated its efforts on serving first class shipowner clients that led to rapid fleet growth.
The new entity is committed itself to serve the shipowner clients through its commitment to safety both at sea and ashore and to maintain its operating standards. Presently, the merged group will continue to operate as separate entities. The tanker fleets of both companies will continue to operate under their existing management and from offices in Singapore and Hong Kong. The group board consisted of members like Peter Cremers, Executive Chairman, John Denholm, Kannika Thasak, Bjorn Hojgaard, Marcel Liedts, Mark Stevenson, Richard Wong and Richard Hext.
Source: Anglo-Eastern Group
