V. Ships buys UMC

The Monaco-based ship management company V.Ships has acquired UMC International PLC. Formed in 1972 as the Under Water Maintenance Company Ltd, UMC International has grown into an international specialist in innovative underwater engineering services with offices in Plymouth, Portland, Rotterdam, Dubai and Fujairah, It has a full time staff of 70, supplemented by an on-call team of fully qualified and certificated divers.

The sale to V. Ships stems from the desire of the management team to grow the business after the recent retirement of owner David Jones. UMC will now operate under the V.Ships Marine Services Division, which provides a range of marine support services including sea going maintenance (SeaSquad), engineering, safety and training services (SeaTec), contracting services (Marcas), average adjusting (The Adjusting Group), insurance (V.Ships Insurance Services), ship agency (V.Ships Agency), crew travel (V.Ships Travel), logistics (SeaSolve Marine Services), and marine electronics & communications (SeaCom Electronics).

UMC International Managing Director Stephen Moore stated: “To work with V.Ships seemed the obvious choice to us to move this business ahead. There is a good fit with the business, the people and the strategy, and we are confident that moving forward together we will jointly be able to service the customers with a more comprehensive proposition. This is a service and people driven industry and in this context we are very pleased that the existing management team will be integral in the continuing development within the new Group environment.”

Shay Devine, CEO of V.Ships Marine Services added: “From a V.Ships« perspective, the acquisition is part of our strategy to build the most comprehensive marine services offering for our customers. The underwater repair and engineering services business will compliment the existing above water repair services offered under the SeaSquad brand. Furthermore, our consultancy company is working within the defence sector and the addition of the UMC services and relationships will enhance our ability to serve this important market.”