Pact to strengthen partnership between the three entities
Bahri, the leading Saudi Arabia-headquartered logistics and transportation services provider has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with International Maritime Industries (IMI) and Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) to build new Very Large Crude-oil Carriers (VLCCs).
As part of the agreement, Bahri is committed to issuing IMI its first order before the end of July 2019. Following the placing of the order, IMI will engage HHI as a sub-contractor to build the vessel in South Korea. HHI, in turn, will help facilitate the transfer of knowledge enabling IMI to independently build VLCCs to international shipbuilding standards in Saudi Arabia.
“This agreement, which further strengthens our strong strategic relationship with IMI and HHI, signifies a major development in this direction, and we are confident it will provide a boost to our ongoing efforts aimed at enhancing our offerings and bolstering our capabilities,” affirmed Abdullah Aldubaikhi, CEO, Bahri.
“This agreement contributes to the development of a localized maritime industry supply chain infrastructure, technical expertise for Saudi nationals, and a track record in shipbuilding,” asserted Fathi K. Al-Saleem, CEO, IMI.
International Maritime Industries is a joint venture between Saudi Aramco, Bahri, Lamprell, and Hyundai Heavy Industries. Located in the King Salman Complex for International Maritime Industries and Services at Ras Al-Khair, Saudi Arabia, IMI is tipped to be the largest, full-service maritime facility in the Middle East and North Africa.
With a capacity to manufacture four offshore rigs, over 40 vessels including three VLCCs, and service over 260 maritime products on an annual basis, the facility will propel growth in the Kingdom’s logistics and transportation sector.
Major production operations are expected to commence toward the end of 2020 with the facility reaching its full production capacity by 2022.
