MANAMA: The Chairman of ASRY, the leading ship and rig repair yard in the Arabian Gulf, Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Al Khalifa has delivered a keynote address at The Maritime Standard Tanker Conference in the UAE, emphasizing the significant challenges facing the Shiprepair market in the Arabian Gulf, and ASRY’s response to them. The Chairman was speaking at the conference the day after being awarded the Maritime Standard Editor’s Choice Award for his contribution to the Maritime industry and the region over the last decade.

The speech outlined key factors in the current shiprepair market slowdown, citing de-globalization in major economies, and the recent oil price decline. The ASRY Chairman went on to describe the effect of this slowdown on the Arabian Gulf: “Every repair job is now aggressively targeted by yards which give higher discount and take lower margins just to secure business. This is the new normal. We do not anticipate any significant recovery in the general repair market in the near-term.” Following which, the address summarised ASRY’s response: “Today, ASRY is a much more diversified hub with a variety of facilities providing flexible options for customers.  We now take an increasing number of simultaneous smaller jobs alongside, and more varied jobs on the slipways, which is a faster and more segmented way of doing business.”

Reviewing ASRY’s results from January to August 2016, the extent of the regional shiprepair markets decline becomes apparent. Revenues from ship repair activities are down 22% year on year for the period, and the average repair spend per vessel has dropped 9%. “Major changes have already started taking place at the shipyard,” revealed Magdy Mustafa, Acting Chief Executive, “with more to come over the coming months. We must stay proactive in preparing for the upcoming challenges if we are to remain competitive and viable.” He warned.