EMERGENCY management and wreck removal company Ardent has issued a statement saying it will “no longer enter into new contracts from May 2020”.

Ardent says it has completed more than 300 contracts since its inception five years ago, its focus being on the marine and oil and gas industry.

“Ardent has sold certain parts of its business to other providers, notably its OPA90 SMFF services,” the company said in its statement.

“All current preparedness and salvage contracts will be fulfilled but outside of existing relations no more new salvage cases will be handled.”

According to Ardent, many of its cases involved challenging work, relating to ships on fire or aground, deep sea oil recovery, UXO subsea work, decommissioning of offshore units or removal of major wrecks.

“Ardent’s contract managers will be in continuous contact with their customers,” the company stated.

“Ardent would like to take this opportunity to thank all its valuable customers and partners over the past five years for their trust in Ardent and its employees’ capabilities.”

Ardent was formed in 2015 with the merger of Svitzer Salvage, then part of the Maersk Group, and Titan Salvage, part of the US-based Crowley Group.