Boskalis bolsters salvage capacity with Ardent Americas buy

Dutch offshore contractor Royal Boskalis Westminster has acquired maritime emergency response specialist Ardent Americas thus expanding its foothold in the US maritime salvage market.

Ardent Americas is an OPA90-compliant player, which means that it meets the requirements of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90).

The act was passed in the US Congress in 1990 shortly after one of the most catastrophic oil spills in human history a year earlier caused by Exxon Valdez oil tanker in Alaska.

It outlines how companies have to work to prevent, respond to and pay for oil spills and entrusts the US Coast Guard for enforcing the requirements.

The OPA90 program also requires shipowners trading in US waters to have an agreement in place with approved emergency response companies for the provision of salvage and marine firefighting services.

Ardent Americas OPA90 program covers approximately 500 shipowners encompassing over 4,000 vessels.

Boskalis currently provides OPA90 services in the US with Donjon-Smit through its subsidiary SMIT Salvage and its joint venture partner Donjon Marine.

Ardent Americas, established in 2015 following the merger of Svitzer Salvage and Titan Salvage, operates from Houston and Fort Lauderdale in the US and was a subsidiary of Ardent Global Marine Services, headquartered in IJmuiden, the Netherlands.