Sealink, then owned by Smit was at this time the primary competition and the two companies at this stage already recognised the necessity for rationalising the launch industry. During 1998 Servest (Pty) Ltd acquired the shareholding of Carrier Marine Services. Servest specialises in core service industries and saw the venture as an opportunity to broaden their business interests. Later the same year the rationalisation of the launch industry took place with Sealink and Carrier Marine Services merging operations to combine their fleets, both vehicles and launches. The result was the formation of two companies, Clipper Marine Services (Pty) Ltd (Launch Services) and Codi Marine Services (Pty) Ltd (Courier and Meet and Assist services), both trading as Carrier Marine Services.
However due to the ongoing downturn in the shipping industry in South Africa, in part due to a weak Dollar / Rand exchange rate and other factors, the company restructured in an effort to reduce overheads and improve operating efficiencies. In October 2005 this resulted in the amalgamation of Codi Marine into Clipper Marine Services.
This resulted in some downscaling of the operation and some of the staff being retired, including the company’s founder Colin Hurrie. Fortunately his son had been in the business since 1998, and the board handed over the reins to Julian at this time. The new team then spent the next few years striving to improve operating efficiencies and service levels for all core services offered. The focus was inward to re investing and rebuilding operational infrastructure.
A global recession and threat of piracy has pushed demand for the core launch service during this time. In March 2011 a change of ownership came when Smit Marine SA sold their 50% share to Servest Group (Pty) Ltd to make CMS a wholly owned Servest entity. This has given the team a cleaner and more focused shareholding which will assist in our continued drive to formalise operational procedures and search for future growth opportunities. We are further proud to have taken on the Servest branding and effective the 1st October 2011 CMS was rebranded as Servest Marine.
Today Julian Hurrie heads up the dedicated ‘Servest Marine Team’ of some 150 staff who offer their specialised services on a round the clock and on demand basis.
