Ship management and maritime service provider Columbia Shipmanagement (CSM) has formed a strategic joint venture with Khobar-based oil service company Spectrum Group to improve its services in Saudi Arabia.
The new firm CSM Arabia will undertake the immediate management of 35 offshore units and jack-up rigs with more to follow, drawing on an expert team of between 70 and 80 staff taken from both companies.
“CSM Saudi Arabia will transfer the most advanced technologies in this field to the Kingdom positioning it as a regional hub, increase job opportunities and enable local talent to employ …technologies for the first time … playing an active role in unlocking the full potential of local content and elevating the logistics sector, key components of the Kingdom’s Saudi Vision 2030,” Hamad Al-Saati , CEO & Chairman of Spectrum Group, said.
Mark O’Neil, President and CEO of Columbia Shipmanagement, said the new entity will aim to expand its services reach within the kingdom as well as in Abu Dhabi and the other emirates.
CSM’s commitment to the Middle East and Saudi Arabia was recently underlined with its announcement to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with International Maritime Industries to provide the full range of maritime services to the King Salman International Complex for Maritime Industries and Services in Ras Al Khair on Saudi Arabia’s east coast.
Abu Dhabi Maritime Academy (ADMA), a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Ports, also recently signed a MoU with Columbia Shipmanagement to develop training programmes, as well as the provision of consultancy services focused on the applications of alternative fuels, efficiency enhancement and artificial intelligence within maritime operations.
Last year, CSM set up a joint venture with Italian ship-owning Group Premuda, controlled by Pillarstone to expand its services in the Italian market.