The two TOP10 companies merge! “Change of ownership” of the world’s largest ship management company

On January 19, the merger of OSM Maritime Group and Thome Group, the world’s top ten ship management companies, was officially finalized, and the two companies announced that they had agreed to merge.

OSM Maritime Group was founded in Arendal, Norway, in 1989, while Thome Group was founded in 1963. It operates in the form of a family business and has grown to become a leader in the field of ship management.

According to the latest statement on the official websites of the two companies, the merged entity will be named “OSM Thome”, with a total of 31000 employees, including about 29000 seafarers and 2000 shore-based employees in 22 countries. The company’s new headquarters will be located in Arendal, Norway, and maintain a strong technical management center in Singapore and Europe.

Finn Amund Norbye, CEO of OSM Maritime, will serve as the CEO of OSM Thome after the merger, while Olav Nortun, CEO of Thome, will serve as the chief operating officer of the ship management sector after the merger. Bj, founder of OSM Maritime? Rn Tore Larsen will become the new chairman of the board of directors, and Thame’s Claes Eek Thorstensen will become the vice chairman.

“By integrating our resources at OSM Thome, we will become a better partner for customers. The two sides will build a stronger platform to continue to provide customers with world-class ship management services and continue to improve.” said Finn Amund Norbye, CEO of OSM Maritime.

According to the statement, at present, the two companies manage 1000 ships, including 450 under comprehensive technical management and 550 under crew management. According to the list of the top ten ship management enterprises and managers in 2022 published by Lloyd’s List, the current fleet size of the world’s largest ship management company, V. Group, is about 965. After the merger, “OSM Thome” will probably replace V. Group as the industry’s largest. It is worth mentioning that in the list of Lloyd’s Daily, OSM Maritime Group and Thome Group ranked eighth and ninth in the world with 650 and 380 ships respectively.

The completion of the merger of the two companies depends on the approval of the competition authority and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2023. Before the merger is officially approved, the two companies will operate as before and have independent management and organization.