The newly-named venture will continue to provide its services with the same values as before – putting safety, quality and reliability at the forefront of its offering.

The change represents the venture’s drive to maximise the efficiency of its operations and enhance its leading position during these challenging times for the maritime industry.

The United Arab Emirates-based shipyard will continue to construct newbuild steel and aluminium vessels as well as provide the same trusted ship repair services to its marine and oil & gas customers in the Middle East. The announcement coincides with the 3 year anniversary of Damen Shipyards Sharjah.

International recognition

Albwardy Marine Engineering was founded back in 1978 and has been a joint venture with Damen Shipyards Group since 2008. In 2014 the official opening of Damen Shipyards Sharjah took place. Albwardy Damen has facilities in three UAE locations: Dubai, Sharjah and Fujairah. In addition to shipbuilding and repair, the company also provides floating repair and diving services.

Damen shipyards Sharjah and its state-of-the-art facilities has been successful in supporting clients in these challenging times by providing safe, efficient and high quality drydocking and repair services. In May last year, the yard’s efforts were recognised when Damen Shipyards Sharjah won the Best New Building Yard prize at Shiptek 2016 International Maritime Awards in Dubai.

New office and workshop planned in Dubai Maritime City for 2017

This year, to further strengthen its position as a high quality provider of ship repair services, Albwardy Damen will construct a new office and workshop facility in Dubai Maritime City. This expansion will enable Albwardy Damen to offer our full portfolio of ship repair activities to customers in Dubai Maritime City and will seamlessly integrate with the existing business units in Al Jadaf, Sharjah and Fujairah.

Strong service

“Bringing both brands together is a logical next step for us,” comments Lars Seistrup, Managing Director of Albwardy Damen “We aim to be the best regional shipyard for building and repairing niche tonnage, and with our expansion in Dubai we are positioning ourselves in the best possible way to serve our clients in the region during these challenging times.”

Vira Maritime