The Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard – ASRY – an Arab edifice embodying the joint Arab work and cooperation at the regional and international level – we hope to clarify what does that mean?

The Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard “ASRY” was founded to include seven Arab countries which are the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq and Libya, under the umbrella of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries “OAPEC”. It serves as the first ship repair yard in the Arabian Gulf region to take advantage of the company site in the Kingdom of Bahrain, which was seen to have one of the largest shipyards in order to repair (large and huge crude oil tankers). Thus, ASRY succeeded in providing dry yard services to six large tankers belonging to a number of the leading international oil companies and the owners of crude oil tankers within the period from October to December 1977.

The oil tanker “Ombrozyana”, whose capacity is 231.048 DWT, and is owned by the Italian “Carol Camilo” Group, is the first ship to enter the dry yard of ASRY company on 23^rd of October, 1977, noting that the yard can receive tankers whose capacities reach up to half a million DWT.

Despite the Arab, regional and international political and economic changes witnessed by the company over the past thirty five years, ASRY company received great patronage either from the owing seven countries or the incubative Kingdom of Bahrain, which enhanced its strength to its activities to continue growing and expanding within the Arab and international markets, till it became one of the leading companies in ship industry and repair; it has also become a major column in the joint Arab projects.

Over the past decades ASRY has been transformed from a mere yard for repairing oil tankers in the late seventies to an enormous facility where all types of commercial vessels are being repaired. What are the kinds of marine and manufacturing services and engineering support for oil and gas industry provided by the company in the meantime?

Since years, we realized the importance of diversifying the income sources inside the company to start its work-related projects through international partnerships. Accordingly, it has started to work in close cooperation with a number of specialized international companies to increase the scope of technical skills provided by “ASRY” in the field of precise and difficult technical reforms in order to meet the growing demand for these services by the owners and operators of ships with modern cargoes which are received from new shipyards around the world, in addition to becoming an effective factor in the global market for repairing and maintaining ships.

ASRY has concluded a partnership with Julteens Company, one of the key partners of ASRY since years. Julteens is the sole company that works only in the provision of specialized repair and maintenance services of engines and their complementary equipment, in particular the two-cycle and four-cycle diesel engines at the global level.

“Jultins” has `recently increased the size of its facility in ASRY Company from 2300 square feet to 9000 square feet, allowing it to perform more activities at a distinct level of service, and to meet the aspirations of ASRY customers.

Since the autumn of 2009, and in cooperation with the “Wratsela” Company, specialized in marine propulsion fans, together with its highly skilled technical crew in its                basin within a workshop in ASRY yard, ASRY becomes able to provide the following repair and maintenance services:

*The engines’ maintenance and development together with improving their performance. This involves the diesel engines which it manufactures, including the provision of spare parts, field services, technical support, and safety and control services.

*The services of designing and manufacturing control systems in engines, keyboards, power units and control panels.

*The services of maintaining propulsion fans. This includes selling spare parts for “libs” fans, field maintenance services to these fans and other OIM equipment, as well as their metallic reforms and specialized services for propulsion equipment in the ship front.

The Scandinavian “Welhelmsin Ships Services” Company specialized in technical services is considered the sole provider of fire and safety services inside ASRY facilities since April 1993. Its businesses have expanded since the end of 2008 through the establishment of an internal administration for marine cooling works.

You have achieved many accomplishments in the advancement of the Company activities. Your company achievements have included the foundation of a new activity which is the offshore platforms’ sector. We would like to shed light on this sector and its importance?

In the context of the company trend to join new investments and projects to support the main work of the company and to diversify the income sources, “ASRY” has made a partnership with one of the British power companies (50/50) to form the joint “ASRY Centrex” Company aiming at producing energy from floating power plants which are the generating electricity onshore platforms which the world is experiencing a surge in its demand. ASRY has witnessed the construction of the first platform for energy production at the end of the last year. This project is expected to achieve financial and economic additions to the company and the economy of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

You have introduced the marketing department to manage the company operations in the regional and international competition seas. What are the achievements of your marketing sector, and its impact on operation rates, and therefore the revenues and profits of 2011?

ASRYMAR Company, based in London, cooperates with the Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard “ASRY” since its establishment. In addition to being an agency for ship construction yards, ASRYMAR also plays an active role in pushing the international marketing activities for ASRY Company, especially in the marine oil and gas sectors, the marine parts reform market and finally the market of the floating electricity plants.

ASRYMAR was established under the chairmanship of Mr. Gifford Rossy at the beginning of 1975 to take over the global marketing of ASRY Company, instead of the managers belonging to the Portuguese Znaf Company, which is considered one of ASRY rivals.

In January 1980, the ownership of ASRYMAR has entirely descended to ASRY Company, where Mr. Jonas Svidberg, a Swedish expert in the field of ship repairing, took over the business management of the Company.

ASRYMAR works now as an agent for ASRY Company in the United Kingdom, the Benelux Countries “Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg”, the Independent Commonwealth States, the republics of the Baltic region and Switzerland. It also plays a secondary role in the completion of the international sales and marketing for a number of the global shipyards’ companies which are not in direct competition with ASRY.

In 2009, which witnessed the entry of sixteen vessels to its yard, ASRYMAR was ranked the first company regarding its performance as an agent of shipyards in Europe, and was internationally ranked the second after the American agent of shipyards. In 2010 the company achieved better results; it succeeded in attracting twenty six vessels for the purpose of repair work. They included vessels belonging to Zodiac Maritime Company in London and Bourbon Offshore Jerinamar Company in Switzerland.

With regard to the secondary role played by ASRYMAR in the international sales and marketing for global shipyards’ companies, ASRYMAR has recently added new yards the biggest of which is Boyard in Varna, Bulgaria and in Moresby port in the Republic of Papua, New Guinea, and “Seven Shipyard” yard in Altenova – Yalova, south of Tuzla, Turkey.

The shipbuilding and repair industry faces regional and global challenges. Would you please clarify that together with stating the effect of these challenges on the industry in general and on the company position in particular?

The Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard “ASRY” is a deep-rooted company, and after the passage of about thirty five years on its establishment, ASRY gained great experience which gives it leadership in the field of maintaining and repairing vessels of different sizes. Despite the existence of rival companies in the region, each company has its own clients and customers. ASRY has taken steps to increase its ability to compete and attract more customers. These steps include the expansion and the entry of industrial fields related to the operations of the company, the improvement of productivity and the elevation of the level of production quality under a successful marketing plan which depends on the leading history of the company and benefiting from the developments carried out by the company now and in the future.