Abu Dhabi Ports, the master developer, operator, and manager of commercial and community ports within the emirate of Abu Dhabi, as well as Fujairah Terminals and Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (KIZAD), announced the purchase of three new tug boats during the Sea Trade Offshore Marine & Workboats Middle East 2017 (SOMWME).
The new tug boats, equipped with the latest technology with a bollard pull power of 30 tonnes, will service both Musaffah and Zayed Ports and further enhance Abu Dhabi Ports existing advanced fleet.
The two companies that won the public tender, Damen and Sanmar, were announced at the Abu Dhabi Marine Services SAFEEN stand, a company wholly owned by Abu Dhabi Ports that provides a comprehensive range of world-class marine services and ancillary quayside services for vessels calling at all Abu Dhabi Ports.
The signature follows Abu Dhabi Ports participation at the event, during which Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Ports, delivered the keynote address in front of an audience of key players in the sector, elaborating on the current global maritime markets with specific attention on prospects of the offshore marine sector. He painted a realistic image of the current maritime sector but also noted that he was optimistic about the sectors future.
Commenting on the recent announcement, Captain Al Shamisi said: “The past years have been challenging for the industry but we must look at the future with trust and optimism. Todays announcement is the perfect reflection of our strategy for growth, which was built on continued investment in state-of-the art infrastructure, technology and skills development.”
Captain Maktoum Al Houqani, chief marine services officer at Abu Dhabi marine services SAFEEN, added: As part of our ambitious journey, in the past year we have made strong strides to expand our world leading service portfolio. We are entering a phase of expansion in our fleet capacity and capability to better cater to the growth of our ports and its customers. The new tug boats will support our ambition to be the preferred service provider at the centre of the maritime industry.
Ruchan Civgin, commercial director of Sanmar Shipyards, commented: We are delighted to be honoured with this order for two further tug boats, following our first delivery of a similar unit to SAFEEN in 2016. We trust they will provide many years of reliability and service towards enhancing SAFEENs thriving reputation in their field and we look forward to supporting their vision and ambition for many years to come.
Pascal Slingerland, sales manager Middle East of Damen Shipyards, highlighted: We are very proud to deliver another tug boat to SAFEEN. We enjoy an excellent relationship with them, due to our unique location here in the UAE. We wish SAFEEN the very best with their new tug boat and are very much looking forward to continuing our fruitful collaboration in the future.
Sea Trade Offshore Marine & Workboats Middle East workshop is an 
annual event that brings together key marine service providers, operators, manufacturers, and suppliers in a three-day event. The event is regarded as one of the largest and most attended maritime events in the industry and includes local and international exhibitors as well as top-level discussions on important trends as well as technical and practical discussion forums.