On track for naval support

Thursday, 26 February, 2009

Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) and UK-based warship building and support services group BVT Surface Fleet aim to stand up their new naval support joint venture in the UAE in the third quarter of this year, senior executives from both partners have confirmed to the IDEX Show Daily.

According to the companies, the joint venture “will offer a range of naval support services across the full spectrum of integrated logistics support and training, as well as outsourcing solutions for base facilities to support the marine fleets of navies, coast guards, marine police, homeland”.

Bill Saltzer, CEO of ADSB, said: “We are preparing the shareholders’ agreement, contract of establishment and business plan, and going through the legal process to get the company ready for launch. We remain on track to have the business up and running sometime in the middle of this year.”

BVT chief executive, Alan Johnston, added: “We are bringing our know-how into this region. We are moving to a through-life capability management approach in the UK, and will seek to flex that same model to suit local needs. This is a long-term partnership and helps BVT expand its footprint in the region.”

The companies are already looking to expand the activities of the joint venture into other GCC states. “We are potentially looking at local offshoots up and down the Gulf,” said Johnston.