Topaz Energy and Marine, a leading offshore support vessel company, has announced the appointments of Martin Helweg as chief operating officer (COO) and Hicham Hachkal as human resources director as well as the appointment of Robert Desai as chief commercial officer.

Helweg takes over the role of COO from Geoffrey Taylor who is retiring with the company’s sincere appreciation after a long and distinguished career. Helweg joins Topaz from Svitzer, with almost 20 years of experience in finance and leadership roles in the shipping and oil and gas industries, spanning across the Americas, Middle East and Asia.

Hachkal has been appointed as HR director, overseeing the HR function. Hachkal brings 20 years of experience mainly in oil and gas companies related to HR strategy, talent development, personnel management, and supporting organisations through economic cycles. In his most recent position, he handled Group HR for Seadrill.

René Kofod-Olsen, chief executive officer, Topaz Energy and Marine said: 'I am pleased to welcome this new talent to our executive leadership team. These appointments reflect our commitment to two core aspects of our business: operational efficiency and our people. With their help I look forward to continuing to build on our healthy business profile, strengthen relationships with key customers, partners and business groups.'

Topaz fortifies its leadership team on the back of important contract wins in 2016 with BP Azerbaijan and TCO in Kazakhstan adding significantly to its industry leading $1.5 billion backlog, further improving Topaz’s earnings visibility and credit strength.

Topaz Energy and Marine is a leading offshore support vessel company providing marine solutions to the global energy industry with primary focus on the Caspian, Middle East, West Africa and Subsea operations in the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Headquartered in Dubai with 40 years of experience in the Middle East, Topaz operates a fleet of 100 offshore support vessels of an average age of eight years.