Bernhard Schulte takes 50% stake in crewing specialist

Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) is expanding its offshore services with a 50% stake in Norwegian recruitment and crewing specialist OffshoreCrew.

The company says it wants to target growing demand for qualified personnel across offshore energy and other specialist marine sectors.

The investment will give BSM access to OffshoreCrew’s database of around 30,000 offshore professionals, as the companies look to provide faster access to specialist personnel for an increasingly diverse offshore fleet.

OffshoreCrew, headquartered in Kristiansand, specialises in recruitment, staffing and crew management for the offshore and maritime sectors, including offshore wind, oil and gas and subsea operations. Its focus is on supplying personnel for specialist offshore vessels and projects, with an established network concentrated particularly in the North Sea.

The move comes as offshore wind and other offshore energy markets develop increasingly specialised vessel requirements, creating demand for crew with specific operational qualifications and experience for offshore wind in particular.

BSM is an integrated maritime services provider and part of the Schulte Group, which has more than 140 years of experience in shipping. It manages a fleet of around 700 vessels, with 40,000 crew and 2,000 shore-based employees, supported by 10 ship management centres, 29 crew service centres and six maritime training centres.

The companies say customers will be able to access services ranging from recruitment and individual staffing through crew management to full technical management, potentially shortening the time needed to mobilise suitably qualified personnel.

Sebastian von Hardenberg, CEO of BSM, said OffshoreCrew’s specialist talent pool would complement BSM’s existing capabilities and allow it to respond “faster and more flexibly” to customers, particularly in dynamic offshore markets.

OffshoreCrew CEO and managing director Javier Zahn said the partnership would enable the company to expand internationally while retaining the flexibility and customer focus of its existing operation.