Albwardy Damen wins Shipyard of the Year Award at the 16th Seatrade Maritime Awards Middle East
Albwardy Damen has been presented with the Shipyard of the Year Award at a glittering ceremony that took place on the first evening of the UAE Maritime Week. The event was the 16th Seatrade Maritime Awards Middle East, Indian Subcontinent & Africa, which recognises the personalities and organisations that have had a significant impact on the regional market over the past year.
Lars Seistrup, managing director Albwardy Damen, declared: “It is a huge honour to win this prestigious award for the second year running. On behalf of our 1,200 staff I would like to thank our customers for their trust in our services. The marine industry is changing rapidly, margins are tight and owners are demanding high quality, safe and efficient vessels as standard. As a service provider to the marine industry we constantly strive to maintain a cost-efficient business and understand the needs of our customers. This award affirms the success of our efforts in both our newbuild and repair departments.”
Albwardy Damen is a joint venture between Albwardy Investment of Dubai and the Netherlands-headquartered Damen Shipyards Group. With over 40 years presence in the UAE, it is one of the leading shipyards in the Middle East. With UAE operations in Dubai, Fujairah and Sharjah as well as Sohar and Salalah in Oman Albwardy Damen repairs over 400 vessels a year of all sizes from tugs to VLCCs and in 2018 it built eight new vessels for delivery around the world.
In the years since 2014, substantial investments have been made in training its staff and nurturing in-house talent and skills. Lars and his management team take great pride in the extensive in-house capability that they have developed covering the full scope of shipbuilding and repair services. 90% of the work that they do is executed from the UAE and Oman locations using Albwardy Damen’s own people and its state-of-the-art equipment
Earlier in 2019, Albwardy Damen invested heavily in 3D scanning and engineering software to carry out ballast water treatment (BWT) retrofits and large pipe renewal schemes on tankers. This has been very successful with two BWT retrofits already completed where 3D scanning, engineering, CNC-controlled piping production and installation were delivered as turnkey projects.
The company takes its environmental responsibilities seriously and is certified for the ISO 14001 management system. It also has an excellent safety record.
Damen Shipyards Group
Damen Shipyards Group operates 36 shipbuilding and repair yards, employing 12,000 people worldwide. Damen has delivered more than 6,500 vessels in more than 100 countries and delivers around 175 vessels annually to customers worldwide. Based on its unique, standardised ship-design concept Damen is able to guarantee consistent quality.
Damen’s focus on standardisation, modular construction and keeping vessels in stock leads to short delivery times, low ‘total cost of ownership’, high resale values and reliable performance. Furthermore, Damen vessels are based on thorough R&D and proven technology.
Damen offers a wide range of products, including tugs, workboats, naval and patrol vessels, high speed craft, cargo vessels, dredgers, vessels for the offshore industry, ferries, pontoons and superyachts.
For nearly all vessel types Damen offers a broad range of services, including maintenance, spare parts delivery, training and the transfer of (shipbuilding) know-how. Damen also offers a variety of marine components, such as nozzles, rudders, winches, anchors, anchor chains and steel works.
Damen Shiprepair & Conversion (DSC) has a worldwide network of eighteen repair and conversion yards of which twelve are located in North West Europe. Facilities at the yards include more than 50 floating (and covered) drydocks, including the longest, 420 x 80 metres, and the widest, 405 x 90 metres, as well as slopes, ship lifts and indoor halls. Projects range from the smallest simple repairs through Class’ maintenance to complex refits and the complete conversion of large offshore structures. DSC completes around 1,300 repair and maintenance jobs annually, both at yards as well as in ports and during voyage.
