Mohammed S. Al
Khattal, General Manager, Al Khattal Boat Factory has been in the boat building business for nearly 13 years. Taking up a family business of traditional dhow building and adopted modern techniques and technologies to adapt to the times. “We are the perhaps the only traditional dhow builders in
UAE. We have tried to make the production process more efficient and the crafts more durable by adopting new techniques.”
Some of the new techniques are to build moulds of the desired shape and size and the use of steel reinforcement frames instead of wooden ones. Fishing boats of fibreglass and plywood are made using these moulds. “We have been able to increase production tremendously because of the use of this technique. Earlier it used to take us two to three months to
complete
a boat. Now, we can complete it within days,” he enthuses.
Al Khattal says that he was planning to achieve record production
level this year. “But recent socio-political uncertainty in
the region has affected business to some extent. But we hope
we will be able to tide over the situation and to achieve
the set targets,” he adds.
The company also gets orders for making moulds.
The production of moulds depends on the demand and type, as some designs take longer to execute. It makes similar moulds for the company’s use such as for carrying freight. Over a hundred workers are employed at the factory.
Al Khattal emphasises that his company is one of the few manufacturers of wooden dhows in the Arab region. The other such builders are from the Indian sub-continent. Given its considerable expertise in this field, the company has made a foray into Oman, with units being developed at
Salalah, Masirah and Muscat. Among the company’s important clients are the Dubai Police, whose patrol boats are maintained at the factory.
Al
Khattal recalls with pride the cargo vessels built at the
factory. “We make large cargo boats as well, which cost 3.5
million to 4 million approximately. We built a cargo vessel
weighing 700 tonnes and two years back, we made an 850 tonne
vessel. Our most recent project has been a wooden freight
vessel weighing 1300 tonnes. We are working on a 1700 tonnes
fibreglass boat, which is expected to be ready in two months.”he
says
Final
preparation is underway for the opening of the additional
Ship Building Yard at GRANDWELD. The new yard is specially
built for the construction of aluminium vessels such as Super
Yachts, Crew Boats and Patrol Vessels up to a length of 55
metres.
The Ship Building Yard contains enclosed shed of 40 x 25 x
15 metres with overhead crane and state-of-the-art CNC cutting
and welding equipment. Heavy lift crane and special low bed
high capacity transporter will be used for transporting completed
vessels from the building yard to the syncrolift.
Final
preparation is underway for the opening of the additional
Ship Building Yard at GRANDWELD. The new yard is specially
built for the construction of aluminium vessels such as Super
Yachts, Crew Boats and Patrol Vessels up to a length of 55
metres.
The Ship Building Yard contains enclosed shed of 40 x 25 x
15 metres with overhead crane and state-of-the-art CNC cutting
and welding equipment. Heavy lift crane and special low bed
high capacity transporter will be used for transporting completed
vessels from the building yard to the syncrolift.
An
ISO 9001 company, Emirates Inflatable Boat Establishment is
a member of Emirates Group, and Arab Marine Industries Association
(AMIA), established in 1992. It has production workshops, maintenance
and repairs workshops, finished boats, storage area, stores,
showroom and administration offices. LIBRA is the Company’s
Official Trade Mark, registered with the Ministry of Economy
& Commerce, UAE.
The company specialises in
design and manufacture of inflatable boats of rigid hull as
well as soft tender ones with aluminium floor, widely used
for rescue operations, marine business, diving, petroleum
marine operations, fun and leisure. The company applies modern
technology in its production process supervised by qualified
engineers and experienced technicians.
The company’s customer base
includes Marine Forces, Police, Diving Companies, Marine Clubs,
Petroleum Companies, Marine Survey and Rescue Circles in the
UAE and abroad as the company exports its products to Sultanate
of Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Libya, India
and Nigeria.
The company has spacious maintenance
facilities for repair of inflatable boats, the largest in
the UAE, well equipped with modern tools and equipment to
meet any required
repair
work and spare parts to its products and any other brand.
According to Mustafa Ashgar,
General Manager, the company is keen to have continuous presence
and participation at the local, Gulf and international exhibitions
and internal events, such as Dubai International Boat Show,
Muscat Exhibition, Genoa (Italy) Boat Show, Amsterdam (Holland),
Düsseldorf (Germany), Monaco (France) Gulf Maritime,
Dubai international Boat Show and many other similar exhibitions.
The main purpose participating
is to follow up the latest international inflatable boat industry
technology and to develop it’s products accordingly, as per
it’s ambitious plans to penetrate international markets and
enlarge it’s customer base.
It has been promoting its product
line of Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats having hulls made of Glass
Reinforced Plastic (GRP) of sandwich construction with polyurethane
foam and balsa wood. The tubes are made of Hypalon (Dupont)
proven fabrics, the most durable fabric for inflatable boats
insuring safe and reliable operation of the boat.
Gray
Mackenzie Engineering Services (GMES) have been operating in
Al Jadaf for several years. “We can today offer instrumentation
and certification services for a large range of parameters,
which continues to grow as we seek to increase our range
of calibration standard references available within our environmentally
controlled laboratory,” says Jim Power, Service Manager.
Certification capabilities comprise Calibration and Servicing,
with UKAS traceable facilities for instruments and test equipment.
The Quality System is currently certified to International Standard
BS EN ISO 9002. The company is preparing to achieve accreditation
to ISO/IEC 17025.
Jim
Power, Service Manager
Gray Mackenzie Engineering
Services (GMES)
“Utilising our Primary Calibration Standards, our experienced
staff are capable of rendering these services in Al Jadaf, or
alternatively on site, recently installing Tank Gauging Systems
for SEWA at their water treatment facility at Kalba,” says Power.
The company’s other recent on-site tasks have included servicing
and certification of Gas Detection Systems and Diving Gauges
on board ships and platforms both offshore and in ports throughout
the UAE.
According to Power, GMES is committed to providing total solutions
geared to specific customer requirements.
Sigma
Coatings is among the top six paint manufacturers worldwide
with a vast network of supply and service centres in all major
ports. Michael Beeston, Area Manager (UAE/Iran/Oman), marine
and protective coatings, says, “Sigma Coatings fully covers
the marine coatings market with its product range, which includes
dry docking paints, tin-free antifoulings, maintenance paints
(sea stock supplies), tank coatings and new-building paints.”
Tom Kennedy, Marine Sales Manager adds, “Our main clients
include OSG; Bilinder; Worldwide Tankers; Papachistides; Stena
P&O; MOL; UASC; Carnival Cruise Lines; SCI; ‘V’ Ships;
Frontline; NITC; IRISL; Princess Lines; Shell Tankers, etc.
Sigma Coatings opts for full-time supervision during dry docking.”
Says Beeston; “For tank coatings, our systems vary from specialised
tank coatings for product/chemical tankers to specialised
ballast tank coatings. Sigmaguard CSF (solvent-free epoxy
coating) is the solution for part and/or complete tank bottom
refurbishment in single as well as double hull oil tankers.”
SigmaPrime and other eco-friendly coatings enable shipyards
to cut down production time and cost. Beeston says, “For example,
our welding shop primers as SigmaWeld MC and our solvent-free
epoxies for ballast tanks make it possible to build vessels
in block stage. The latest technology for tin-free anti-foulings-the
Sigma Alphagen series are being used by ship owners and managers
worldwide.”
The local Dubai Sigma Paints organisation is a branch office
of Sigma Paint Saudi Arabia. Sigma Paints is a fully fledged
part of the SigmaKalon Group Worldwide with its head office
and two factories based in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. An additional
factory is located in the Mussafa Industrial Zone, Abu Dhabi.
It produces decorative, protective and marine products for
the UAE, Oman and Iran markets. Plans are underway to expand
our Iranian facilities to accommodate our increased capacity
for the future within Iran.
Cummins
Marine introduced the QSK6O engine, with a power range of
2000-2300 hp (1492 - 1716 kW) or propulsion and 1500-1825
kWe for auxiliary applications and is the most powerful marine
engine in the Cummins line-up.
Says Sam Taleb, Middle East General Manager of Cummins, “The
QSK6O provides operators with a choice, not only for high-speed
applications, but as a cost effective alternative to medium
speed.”, The
QSK6O is a full authority electronic engine. Quantum System
electronics optimise engine fueling for reduced emissions,
smoke and fuel consumption. The electronic control module,
a CM500 for propulsion and Dominion-G drive for auxiliary
configurations, even allows for customised calibrations
to match the engine to a vessel’s operating environment.
The Cummins-designed Eliminator oil purification system
eliminates the need for conventional oil filters, saving
service time and disposal problems. A 100-gallon (378
litre)
oil pan extends the time between oil changes beyond the
typical 250 hours. It also has a Centinel oil management
system and an oil burn system.
The engine is manufactured
at the Daventry Engine Plant in the United Kingdom. Cummins
has more than 500 company owned and independent distributor
locations in 131 countries and territories.
Albwardy
Marine Engineering L.L.C has been primarily engaged
in ship repair and is one of the oldest companies operating
in Al Jadaf. Recent assignments being undertaken by
the company include major dry-docking repairs and refit
on supply vessels Pacific Beaver, Sentinel and OSA Victor.
Work is continuing on long-term projects like yachts
Moonlight, Dubai Millennium and a 70-metre long house
boat.
N.
Sankar
General Manager,
Global Technical Systems
The company expects to dock the supply vessel Seabulk
Persistence and a cargo vessel Lidan belonging to European
owners in the near future. In the offshore sector, repair
and refurbishment work on a Russian Rig at Port Rashid
is underway.
Also three riding squads are sailing and carrying out
repair work on ships and fabrication assignments in
the yards belonging to Vela International Tankers.
The annual maintenance contract on the FPSO Soorena
and FSO Safer is also in progress and repair teams are
on board. The company’s Fujairah based workshop is undertaking
repair on Intersea boats and tugboats at Port of
Fujairah.
Standard Ship Spares started in 1986 with the supply of marine and ship spare parts and related equipment. Its industrial division Standard Technical Supply caters to the oilfield, petrochemical and industrial sectors.
Wilden
pump
It has an efficient supplier network and product agencies and a strong client base in the region.
It is the authorised supplier
of Wilden pumps in the region. Wilden Pump and Engineering manufactures air operated diaphragm pumps used in diverse industries. Wilden pumps come in
aluminium, SS316, poly- propylene, PVDF and elastomer options like
buna, neoprene, viton, santoprene, nordel, polyurethane and
teflon. Flowrates of up to 300 GPM can be reached at an air pressure of 8.6 bar (125 psig). Jabir
Rasheed, Managing Director and Founder of SSS says, “Wilden pumps are advantageous over other pump types because they are air operated, versatile, intrinsically safe and have low maintenance. They can handle almost any fluid with minimal damage to the pump and the product. “Wilden is our prime product,” says Hussein
Rasheed, Technical Director the Dubai-based firm. “We are the sole distributor for Wilden pumps in the
U.A.E., Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Eastern Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen and Pakistan,” he adds.
Wilden has bestowed the “Outstanding Achievement Award” in 1992, 1996, 1999 and 2002 to Standard Ship
Spares.
Norwegian
Maritime Equipment (NME) is in the process of developing
a new free-fall system, which will be one of the smallest
systems in the market, with a length of 4.9 m and
a capacity of 13 persons.
A davit
manufacturer has been engaged to develop the davit
system for the free-fall boat. The system will be
designed with a view to saving both deck space and
weight. The prototype is planned to be ready in June/July.
Weather
Disclaimer
Middleastlogistics.com
does not warrant or assume any legal liability or
responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness
of any information, News provided in association with Al
Ahliyah co. for trading agencies and export ltd. Baghdad,
Iraq.
Disclaimer middleastlogistics.com shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
