The Bahrain Ship Repairing and Engineering Company BSC  (Basrec), the oldest facility of its kind in the Gulf, is on the threshold of further expansion and improvements with regards to both ship repairs and a range of engineering services it provides beyond the maritime field.

The company has been in operation for more than 50 years and while its core business is ship repairs, it is also active in its other divisions – Technical Engineering and Marketing Services (Teams), Marine and Industrial Pump Repairs (MIPR), Containers and Small Boats.

“Didine Saadi, CEO, says the company is looking at expansions in each of its businesses. “Hopefully, it will enhance our visibility in markets and, in the case of ship repairs, further our plan to make Basrec a one-stop shop for that work.  Beginning in the New Year, we will install new equipment and deploy new skills.” The official did not elaborate on the ship repairs expansion but the company has been communicating to the market that its offerings lie well beyond the confines of ship repairs and take on wider challenges in the engineering field that encompass the requirements of the building construction industry, water and electricity sector, the renewable energy field, and the oil and gas and manufacturing industries.

“We’re looking at growth and increasing Basrec’s profile beyond the GCC region and into the international sphere. Our vision includes joint ventures. If someone sees good opportunities and is willing to link up with us we’ll be open to tie-ups,” said Saadi.

He said Basrec is currently in the process of appointing distributors and agencies for Teams, which is involved in the designing, selling and after-sales work relating to a range of pumps and other equipment’s including switchgear.

“Teams has made its mark over the years; now we wish to have a greater focus on the business and on diversification,” said Saadi. Teams specialises in providing customised services in the areas of pumps for sweet water, dewatering and sewerage; GRP tanks, HV switchboards, transformers, distribution boards, LV switchboards, bus risers, power factor correction, motor control centres and distribution boards.  Clients for Teams are government ministries and private contractors, and the company’s forte is designing equipment for the specific requirements of customers prior to sales and providing the all-important after-sales support that the end users may need in course of time. Basrec’s service centre at MIPR is where equipment servicing is accomplished. “It is a fully fledged workshop with all the required equipments and facilities including balancing machine, casting, and electrical motors and rewinding,” explained Saadi. “This is a competitive business and we’re presenting equipment and skills our customers require – all the way from design to supply, installation and after sales. We offer a turnkey operation.

A technician at Basrec’s Teams division

“Basrec has designed, sold and serviced pumps for Bapco, Alba, ministries of works and housing and water and sewerage plants, among other parties in diverse fields.” MIPR offers helifusion welding for shaft repairs and rebuilding, metal stitching on pump casings, protective coatings, manufacture of pump- and non-pump-related spare parts, supply of mechanical seals, inspection and overhauling of reduction gear boxes, dynamic balancing , computer-aided drawing and technical expertise and assistance.

The company, whose main shareholders are Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo WLL (47.14 per cent) and the General Organisation for Social Insurance (Gosi) (7.5 per cent), seeks to exploit opportunities in the renewable energy field and is in touch with innovative, international suppliers of solar energy equipment including pumps, water heaters and ACs. It says it can assist the government’s renewable energy endeavour by supplying equipment for all types of situations relevant to that sector. This includes centralised solar water heating for building complexes through an evacuated tube collector system. 

Basrec ’s latest expansion phase began in 2011 when it expanded its jetties by 250 m enabling it to bring more ships alongside and have more repair work done. The jetties lengthening was completed in 2013. The yard has two slipways, each of 80 m and equipped with lifting capacities up to 1,000 tonnes, and it offers repairs to ships of a maximum of 6,000 tonnes dwt while they can go down to as small as lifeboats.  Facilities include a floating dock 120 m by 18.6 m with sidewalls and a lifting capacity of 3,500 tonnes. The two quayside jetties have a total length of 530 m with 8 m depth at low tide and clients are drawn from across the Middle East, Europe and Asia/Pacific.

The company offers mechanical and electrical works, blasting and painting, machining and fitting, pipe work, carpentry and fiberglass work as well as inspection services. The small-boat division provides a range of services and specialist facilities including the repair and overhauling of engines, gear boxes, stern drives, electrical and glass reinforced plastic and inflation-collar services and general small boat repairs.

Basrec’s container repairing division got a boost when in 2013 it opened a new depot and warehouse facility to repair containers of 20 feet and 40 feet equivalent units. With the only facility of its kind in the kingdom, the division takes in carpentry and steel repairs and provides pluggings for refrigeration containers, and has been successfully completing orders for a host of international shipping lines. In view of the skills it has accumulated and the experience gained, Basrec is considering opening a container repairing facility in one of the neighboring countries.

The company’s internal control will be enhanced by the implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform for its core business processes. It has received the ISO: 2008 certificate for quality management, ISO 14001:2004 for environmental management, OHSAS 18001:2007 for occupational health and safety management and the ISPS, the international code for the security of ships and port facilities.

Having been in business for half a century, Basrec is in prime position to train young Bahrainis for jobs in the ship repairs and engineering fields, which it has been doing with great dedication. It trains apprentices from technical schools and absorbs them in its facilities in furtherance of the government’s Bahrainisation aspirations.