Middle East maritime boom draws $33b

Dubai: Oil-fuelled growth has pushed up the Middle East's seaport and maritime facilities development and expansion bill to Dh121 billion ($33 billion), as major shippers are increasing their orderbook, according to reports.

"There are currently around 50 major seaport projects valued at more than $33 billion across the Middle East with individual budgets ranging from $10 million to $5.5 billion," according to research company Proleads, which monitors all major regional construction.

The region is home to one of the world's largest container ports in Dubai's Jebel Ali, which currently handles around 11 million twenty-feet equivalent container units a year.

If growth continues at the same pace as today, Jebel Ali expects to increase capacity to 80 million twenty-foot equivalent units by 2030. The port is already expected to add a further five million units by early next year.

"The emergence of strong and diversified maritime companies and operators is making the Middle East, and the Arabian Gulf in particular, one of the most dynamic and vibrant international maritime centres in the world," Christopher Hayman, Managing Director of Seatrade, organisers of Seatrade Middle East Maritime 2008, said in a statement.

Countries throughout the region are also planning dramatic increases in their capacity to handle containers and cargo.

The biggest seaport being planned is Qatar's New Mesaieed Port ($5.5 billion), heading a top ten of new or expansion port projects. Shipping companies are matching this growth with topping up their orderbook.

"We currently have an order backlog of 500 vessels, of which about 44 have been placed by our Middle Eastern customers," Jing Wan Kim, Samsung's president and chief executive, told Gulf News recently. "This year, we will deliver 56 ships with a possible turnover exceeding $10 billion, up from last year's $9 billion."

United Arab Shipping Company (UASC), the largest operator of ocean-going vessels in the Gulf, last week awarded a Dh5.5 billion ($1.5 billion) contract to Samsung Heavy Industries to build and supply nine A13 type container ships each with a capacity of 13,100 twenty-feet-equivalent units (TEUs).

This constitutes the biggest containership new building order ever placed by a GCC-owned company, officials said, as demand for additional capacities rise.

"Due to strong economic growth in the Middle East, demand for new capacity is growing at a fast pace. This is true for both transportation and maritime facilities," Ken Bloch Sorensen, UASC president and chief executive, said, adding that the fleet growth is in line with the industry's growth.

Abu Dhabi-based Al Jaber Group on Sunday said, it has awarded a $500 million contract to a Chinese shipbuilder for eight ships.

Fatima Al Jaber, Chief Operating Officer, Al Jaber Group, added, "With the increasing demands in the shipping sector in the region, and due to the strategic position of the UAE, we were keen to upgrade our fleet and expand our operations with state-of-the-art new ships that will cater to the needs of both local and regional shipping markets."

Hayman said, "Middle East optimism in the maritime industry is founded on increasing demand for oil and gas worldwide, the vital role the region plays as a strategic trading hub as the link between Europe and the Far East, and the continuing strength and vibrancy of regional economies."