Expert marine company sold (From Western Telegraph)

Expert marine company sold

Milford Haven Port Authority has sold its subsidiary company, DV Howells, to Braemar Seascope. The 30 employees will transfer with the business.

Ted Sangster, chief executive of Milford Haven Port Authority, explained that DV Howells had been set up in its current form in 1998.

Its remit was to create a business from the core contract held at that time with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency for housing and deploying the national stockpile of equipment to be used in the event of a major oil pollution at sea.

"The management team has been extremely successful in building a much bigger business from these small beginnings and in recent years this growth had added inland response, training, environmental, rail and industrial services and overseas consultancy to its original core marine emergency response business," he said.

"As a result, DV Howells was becoming a business which has less synergy with our activities as a port authority group of companies.

"While we will continue to assist DV Howells in many ways, this will no longer be as the owner, as we firmly believe that its future potential will be better served as part of the Braemar Seascope Group's more widely-based operations."

James Kidwell, financial director of Braemar Seascope, .told the Western Telegraph: "We are very excited to acquire the business.

"It is a business that will sit extremely well along with our existing ship broking and shipping agency business.

"As far as DV Howells' position locally is concerned we don't see any changes, and all the staff will be transferred."