Dubai Drydocks, a market leader in ship repair and conversions, has signed an agreement with Singapore-based Navig8 to build four medium range (MR) product tankers, with an option for four more vessels.

The deal, valued at $175 million, is the biggest-ever signed by Dubai Drydocks and will launch the company into the arena of building larger merchant vessels.
Steel-cutting for the first of the four confirmed 50,000 dwt chemical carriers is scheduled to begin in May 2008.  The vessels will be delivered between 2009 and 2010 under a staggered timeline being worked out between the two sides.  A deal on the option for four more tankers will be considered by December 2007.
Dubai Drydocks, which launched new ship building operations last year, won the contract from Navig8 after beating back tough competition from several major international rivals.
The recently appointed managing director of Dubai Drydocks, Nawal Saigal, said: "This is a very special moment for Dubai Drydocks as we conclude the agreement with Navig8.  This is the largest contract in terms of total value that Dubai Drydocks has signed so far.  With this agreement, we take on the challenging task of building a new range of MR tankers.  We look forward to a fruitful partnership with Navig8."
The modern-generation MR tankers will be built according to proven designs provided from Korea and will comply with the latest common structural rules (CSR). 
The deal assumes strategic significance since it follows closely the successful foray into the highly competitive Far Eastern market by Dubai Drydocks’ parent company, Drydocks World, through the acquisition of a controlling stake in Pan-United Marine Limited (PUM), one of Singapore’s largest shipyards.
Work on the Navig8 tankers will begin after the completion of work on two 16,500 dwt semi-submersible steel hulls for Aker Kvaerner, a Norwegian company.
“The submersibles and the new chemical tanker projects are major ship-building jobs.  They fully justify the investments Dubai Drydocks has made in its newbuilding facility.  Our business development activities are well in line with our new ship-building projections," says Saigal.
Dubai Drydocks entered the capital-intensive business of ship building in 2004-05.   Following the completion of an $81 million expansion project that included the development of the northern side of its massive yard into a modern fabrication yard, it has established itself as a major ship builder at the global level.
The company employs over 8,500 skilled artisans and is well respected within the maritime industry for providing a service, which fully meets the clients’ requirements.