Innovative services for the UAE’s maritime sector

UAE

Samer Qiblawi, president and CEO of Marcap, talks to The Energy Year about trends in the market for maritime services in the UAE and Saudi Arabia and building a fleet for a wide range of specialised services. Marcap is an Abu Dhabi-based vessel owner and operator that provides transportation, vessel management and offshore and logistical support services.

What are the latest trends in the UAE’s maritime landscape?
The UAE is one of the most important maritime hubs in the Middle East. The market is very vibrant right now, and it needs a lot of vessels. Several artificial islands are being constructed, and these new pieces of land need landing grounds and equipment such as crew boats and landing craft tanks. They are a new source of demand.
This new activity comes on top of traditional field development projects. Offshore fields also require equipment, construction support vessels, pipeline construction vessels, equipment transportation by barge, and many other services. We have been participating in almost all the projects, including ADNOC’s Hail and Ghasha development, and we are providing logistical support to ADNOC Logistics and Services.

What growth do you expect to see in the Saudi market?
Saudi Arabia is a very exciting market, and we are proud to have been present for the past 15 years. Our business there has grown by around 25% in the past year, and we remain very ambitious. We are currently serving two major clients: Aramco and KJO [Al Khafji Joint Operations]. Recently, our growth has primarily been with KJO. Marcap’s short-term plan is to target at least 35% growth for the upcoming year.

How has Marcap’s business evolved in the past year?
The past year has been very exciting. Our revenues have increased by about 50%. We have launched a new set of services, and we are packaging services we provided separately before. We have found out that there is a gap in the market for comprehensive services.
The market is also lacking vessels, and building a new vessel takes at least two to two and a half years. There has also been a concentration of players in the market, so we decided to offer as a service to third parties the same things we have been doing to our own vessels these past 28 years. We are capitalising on our experience and abilities to offer this suite of services professionally, efficiently and faster than competitors.
We will cater to shipowners who don’t want to manage or operate their vessels, and to international companies who want to enter the market but are hesitating because they do not want to go through the hassle of navigating local laws and regulations while dealing with local clients. The UAE has very high standards and strict security requirements for new entrants and for crew approvals and training. They are higher than in many other countries. Our service packages have been designed to meet those particular needs.

Can you provide an overview of your current fleet?
The number of vessels in our fleet has grown by more than 50% since 2023. We look at the market, pinpoint its requirements and acquire the vessels needed to meet them. Our strategy does not focus on any single type of vessel. We want to be a boutique and focus on serving targeted markets and, this year, we diversified our fleet to cater to specific clients.
Just in the past three months, six vessels entered our fleet, and we have mobilised vessels from Southeast Asia and Bahrain. We have a collaboration with Al Jazeera Shipping and have four of their vessels right, with another four expected to join the fleet very shortly. We have also added two anchor-handling tug supply vessels, one safety standby rescue vessel, crew boats and a landing craft.
The incorporations are a mix of purchased vessels and bareboat charters. We now have around 28 vessels, either owned or managed, and we hope to reach 32 very soon.

How does Marcap use technology to optimise the performance of its vessels?
We’re always striving to improve through the use of technology. Technology adoption in the maritime field has been slow in the past, and we have had a lot of challenges. We work mainly with vessels that are in remote locations, and each vessel is an operational unit in itself, so the challenges we face are mainly related to communication and connectivity, as we work around the clock.
The three technology areas we’re concentrating on are sensors for fuel consumption information, communications – we have just introduced a new system called ShipArc – and preventive analytics to reduce vessel downtime.

Do you have plans to expand to other markets in the region?
Before expanding to other countries, you first need to have a strong technical knowledge of the domestic market. You also need to have a very strong HSEQ system because quality cannot be compromised. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are markets that demand very high standards of service. The equipment and service you provide have to be excellent, and you can’t achieve that without a strong team. Having a good team is the number one priority.
Beyond Saudi Arabia and the UAE, we are expanding in Mozambique, where we currently have two ships under management and another two in the pipeline. We are looking at West Africa, the Middle East and, in the Mediterranean, Egypt and Cyprus. However, as we are still very busy in our current markets, we consider expansion as a long-term plan.

What is on your to-do list for 2025?
In terms of market strategy, we want to increase our reach, do more work and win more contracts. We also want to continue developing our internal systems, improve our IT and embrace innovations in the market.
We want to continue being a preferred employer in the sector. Our retention for both office staff and vessel crews is very high, and we want to maintain it. We also want to successfully develop the new services we have launched and develop partnerships with other vessel owners and companies who require our services.
Following this strategy, I want to see Marcap grow into a bigger international player with a larger and more modern fleet offering a wider range of services, even turnkey jobs involving large equipment.

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• Bahrain
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• UAE