Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) has announced it is stepping up its focus on maintenance, repairs and overhauling (MRO), a fast-growing business division of the company.

Each year the company, an affiliate of Mubadala, handles approximately 300 repair and upgrade projects for vessels including tugs, barges, landing craft, dredgers, work boats, crew boats, diving vessels, supply and safety vessels and anchor handling tug boats. Most of these jobs involve dry docking, although some are carried out afloat and offsite.

Mohamed Salem Al Junaibi, CEO of ADSB, said: “We are keen on leveraging our vast expertise in MRO services with the increased focus on this domain. Our world-class shipbuilding and repair facility has given us a significant competitive edge in the regional market, as we are able to undertake new construction projects in steel, aluminium alloy or composite materials.”

At the Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition & Conference (Dimdex), ADSB targeted long-term contracts and strategic partnerships, taking advantage of the growing demand for specialised naval support services in the region. The event also served as an important venue to showcase the company’s unique capabilities, said Al Junaibi.

Abu Dhabi Ship Building carries out daily maintenance and repair tasks for military clients in the UAE as well as foreign navies.  It has fleet maintenance contracts with the UAE Navy, UAE Coast Guard and the recently established Critical National Infrastructure Authority (CNIA). It also has long-term fleet maintenance contracts with leading offshore fleet operators Esnaad, which recently signed a three-year rate-running contract worth Dh70 million ($19 million), and Irshad. Other prominent clients include Boskalis, Van Oordz, Damen Marine Services, Al Seer Marine, Zakher Marine International, Khalid Faraj Shipping, NPCC, Marcap and NMDC.

During Dimdex, ADSB announced that the first and second vessels of the Baynunah Corvette Class Programme would be delivered to the UAE Navy by the end of summer. It also highlighted the capabilities of the other vessels under construction.

Undertaken at the company’s world-class facility in Mussafah, Abu Dhabi, the Baynunah Corvette Class Programme is the biggest warship construction programme in the region consisting of six state-of-the-art warships for the UAE Navy. Other high-profile projects of the company include 34 high-speed interceptor vessels for the CNIA, and a project with the UAE Navy to build 12 and upgrade another 12 Ghanatha brand boats each measuring 27 m.