Marine services company V.Group has announced its acquisition of Belships Management (Singapore) in a strategic partnership with its previous parent company Belships ASA. 

The technical and crewing management business will be integrated into V.Group’s operations but stay as the sole provider of ship management services to Belships ASA, managing its dry bulk vessels. 

V.Group CEO René Kofod-Olsen described the partnership as a big milestone for the company: “This agreement is a major step in our strategy of partnering with first-time outsourcers among blue-chip vessel owners. 

“Our goal is to be ‘the committed partner of progress for everything at sea’ and we look forward to partnering with Belships as it continues to grow its business.”  

The acquisition, worth around $8.5m is part of V.Group’s aim to build an “industry-leading” centre of expertise for dry bulk operations building on previous acquisitions such as Graig Ship Management and Bibby Ship Management. 

Belships ASA CEO Lars Christian Skarsgård said: “Through this partnership, we will benefit from V’s global reach, accelerated digitalisation and decarbonisation capabilities and create the flexibility to scale our fleet. 

“Additionally, we will maintain the expertise and dedicated operational personnel that we have built over the years.” 

Norwegian shipping company Belships operate a fleet consisting of 30 modern Supra/Ultramax bulk carriers with four new builds on the way between 2024 and 2026. 

The Belships acquisition comes shortly after one of the largest acquisitions in the ship management industry, between OSM Maritime Group and Thome Group, received approval from regulators, thus creating a new company known as OSM Thome which will also be based in Norway.