Preparing for Kuwait’s offshore drive

Kuwait

Ravi Varrier, CEO of Al Rashed International Shipping, talks to The Energy Year about the company’s approach to conducting business, its competitive advantages, its involvement in the oil and gas sector and the logistics and shipping environment in Kuwait. Al Rashed International Shipping is a full-service logistics and shipping company.

What are Al Rashed’s guiding values when conducting business, and what would you say are the company’s competitive advantages?
Al Rashed is a 360-degree company. We do everything in logistics and shipping, as we are also a marine agency. The business world is evolving and changing, with new concepts and new ways of thinking, so we have to adapt if we want to survive and thrive.
That is why we have diversified our business into different cores. We are a shipping agent, charterer, contractor and freight forwarder. Al Rashed has always tried to be a pioneer in Kuwait and then expand our footprint into other countries within the GCC region, including Qatar – where we set up shop 15 years ago – and Saudi Arabia – where we kicked off activities a while ago but established an entity only in 2023.
Our guiding principles are loyalty to what we are doing, ability to adapt, reliability and transparency. This means that you need to be communicative and know the culture of your customers. Especially in a country such as Kuwait, where people are adept and experienced in business, trustworthiness is a key element. We have been reliable since day one, and that is one of the reasons why our customers, from export companies to port clients, have been with us for so many years.
We are deeply customer-oriented. We go the extra mile for them. Our company has been working in the sector for more than 70 years, and my conclusion is that it requires a lot of work to reach the top, but then it is even more difficult to remain there. Consistency and continuity are must-haves.
In short, we want to differentiate ourselves not only for the quality of our services and for being a one-stop solution provider in the shipping industry but also for the values that guide our business operations. From our standpoint, adding value is not just a matter of money. Reputation is also a crucial aspect, and Al Rashed International Shipping is a legacy brand in Kuwait.

How would you assess the domestic logistics and shipping environment, its main opportunities and aspects that should be improved?
My biggest dream is to see Kuwait stepping up its warehousing and distribution capabilities, which are not yet well developed despite the huge potential. Think, for example, of chemical warehousing: Kuwait is a country where most of the oil and petrochemicals that arrive have to be stored and distributed, following specific HSE policies.
Moreover, Kuwait is strategically located, being well connected to the whole GCC region, despite the delays in creating international links following recent co-operation agreements. A good example is the Kuwait-Saudi Arabia railway link, the study of which has yet to be completed. Its effect on regional connectivity will be really positive once it is up and running. Regarding the nature of the infrastructure, although it is improving, Shuwaikh and Shuaiba ports require work.
The pandemic hit the logistics sector hard, and some companies are still recovering. Besides, everybody now who has a truck claims to be a logistics company, as there are no criteria to rate them, which is detrimental to the sector, and we believe it is something that should be introduced soon by the government. Last but not least, another major challenge that our sector is facing is the availability of land, which in particular prevents the establishment of warehouses.

Can you give us more details about your involvement in oil and gas activities, as well as your relationship with shipowners?
Throughout the years, we have been involved in some of the major energy projects in Kuwait, including the Clean Fuel Project, JPF-4 [Jurassic Production Facility 4] and the Al Zour Refinery. We have also recently set up a team to assist Kuwait’s offshore undertakings, as we have provided a lot of logistics and marine agency support for offshore drilling rigs already.
All the big oil and gas companies know us, and we have been signing agreements with them. We already supported Halliburton, for example, in some of its offshore projects. The offshore frontier is very promising. It was supposed to kick off a long time ago, but then it was halted by Covid. It is moving ahead now.
Besides that, we have contracts for various shipping services, such as passenger ferries, freighters, container ships, bulk carriers and oil tankers, as well as Customs clearance.
Regarding our relationships with shipowners, we have a very solid one with KOTC [Kuwait Oil Tanker Company]. They are handling all the oil tankers coming to Kuwait. We are in constant contact with many shipowners, helping them with port procedures. We have become the protecting agent for the shipowners, we might say.

What is your company’s standpoint when it comes to promoting new technologies within the shipping sector?
Our company has always been committed to the development and the spread of technology as well as greener practices. In this sense, we have been a tireless supporter of the government’s initiatives in these fields. We have put all our efforts into projecting Kuwait wherever we go and in trying to identify good partners that can help us in this journey.
In Al Rashed, we deeply value new technologies as enablers of the company’s growth. More specifically, we are exploring how to implement AI and also how to better interconnect our staff operations. In the first half of 2024, we have already invested KWD 90,000 [USD 292,500] in these developments.

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