It’s business as usual at the Arab Shipbuilding & Repair Yard (ASRY) in the Kingdom of Bahrain following the civil unrest in the Gulf state over the past few weeks.
During the disturbances, which centred around a relatively small area of the downtown part of the capital Manama, well away from ASRY, 10km to the south east in Hidd, shiprepair and maintenance work continued unhindered. In fact the yard was full during this period, repairing a wide variety of vessels including naval craft, a naval auxiliary, two ULCCs, a large containership, offshore pipe-laying barge, one of the world’s largest jack-up rigs, barges, an anchor-handling tug and chemical tanker, from shipowners and operators based in the UK, USA, Bahrain, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait.
Commenting on the situation, ASRY’s CEO Chris Potter said: ‘Following a number of days recently where tension in Bahrain was high, the authorities have restored calm. To a large extent Bahrain has resumed an air of normality, apart from a strong presence of military and police. At the yard the situation is normal and work continues at ASRY as usual.
‘We understand the concerns of our customers, however we can safely say the worst is over. Fortunately, we have a large expatriate workforce of 4,000 workers, including 30 sub-contractors within the shipyard, nearly all of whom live on site, so getting to work hasn’t been a problem.
‘All roads are now clear and open. We have had no loss of business due to the disturbances, and our customers, both regional and international, continue to support us. What is important now is we rebuild customers confidence in our ability to repair their vessels in a safe and caring environment. This is a firm assurance I can give with the utmost confidence.
‘The yard’s close proximity to Bahrain International Airport and the major hotels has enabled work to continue unhindered, with superintendents and shipowners’ representatives having no problems of safely accessing ASRY.’
Meanwhile, ASRY, one of the world’s leading shiprepairers, continues to push ahead at pace with its US $188m facilities expansion programme. This will come to a head towards the end of 2011 with the opening of the yard’s new 1.38km repair quay wall.