Dubai’s ETA-Ascon group plans to spend $2.72 billion on a fleet of merchant ships over the next five years in a bid to become one of the Middle East’s biggest ship owners, a top official said.
A news report, quoting the official, said negotiations for a variety of merchant vessels, including oil tankers, were already underway. Ameer Faisal, ETA’s senior general manager for shipping, said the group was also planning to enter ship-building activities since the group saw a big demand for vessels.
He said: “Based on our projections, we see a strong demand for more ships.
“We need more ships now for our business as we speak. The expanded fleet will help us to manage future needs.
“As we spend a lot on ship servicing and repairing, it makes perfect business sense to have our own shipyard,” Faisal said in remarks published in a Press report.
The Dubai-based diversified business conglomerate whose interests vary from construction to retail and property plans to expand its fleet by another 76 ships including a slew of brand new vessels built in Asia. This will require a major ship service and repair infrastructure to serve the fleet.
“We are looking at various locations in China and India, including a shipyard in Cochin which may be privatised.”
The group currently owns 16 ships through subsidiaries that include an Indian offshoot, West Asia Maritime, with another eight on order, according to industry sources.
It also charters some 200 vessels a year to support its extensive trading activity in commodities ranging from iron ore, coal, aggregates, foodstuffs, chemicals and metals.
The company is negotiating with a number of ship builders for signing major orders. These include orders for four tankers with Japan’s Universal Shipbuilding Corporation, said Ameer Faisal.
The new orderbook will range vessels from Panamax to very large crude carriers (VLCCs) that will require investment in billions of dollars, he said in the report. This could be the biggest expansion of the group whose annual turnover rose to $3 billion last year, from $2.5 billion a year ago. The ambitious plan will make it the largest fleet owner in the Middle East. Currently United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) operates the largest fleet in the region, the report said. The group employs 35,000 people in 20 countries.
