Grandweld Shipyards has been awarded a major new contract by Specialities Construction (SCC) to build four 50-tonne BP escort tugs to operate in Shuwaikh Port for Kuwait Port Authority. The design includes Escort Notation, Z-drive propulsion and added features such as firefighting and oil recovery.

 

This award ensures that Grandweld has a solid order book until the end of 2022 and further cements the company’s position in the market for building customised, high-quality tugboats. 

 

It is another sign of consistent and growing demand for Grandweld’s products and services following two strong years of other major ship building and repair contract announcements. 

 

Grandweld, part of Stanford Marine Group (SMG), is one of the region’s leading shipyards, and provides a fully integrated service in shipbuilding, ship repair and engineering solutions. Grandweld has built a strong reputation for delivering innovative, reliable ships that is supported by excellent after-sales service. 

 

Grandweld utilises advanced shipbuilding technology including a highly digitised workflow that is integrated with yard systems. To ensure customer needs are met, Grandweld selected renowned international tug-boat designer Robert Allan Ltd to produce a customised version of its TRAktor 2700-Z design, while Grandweld’s engineering department will produce the highly detailed 3D production design. 

 

Elias Nassif, Founder and Group CEO of SMG, commented: "We see exciting opportunities for growth across the region. This contract win for Grandweld in Kuwait is the latest in a growing pipeline of business and is proof that Grandweld is a competitive, innovative and high-quality shipbuilder in the tug market. We look forward to building these tug-boats here in the UAE to showcase our innovative engineering capabilities and strengthen Grandweld’s order book visibility through the end of 2022.”

 

Jamal Abki, General Manager, Grandweld Shipyards, said: “At Grandweld, our goal is to develop long-term, sustainable relationships with our customers based on our ability to consistently deliver innovative designs and reliable products, all with our trademark customer service. This was a tender that was highly competitive, but we secured it because of our commitment to these strong values.” 

 

Eng Mubarak Al-Woqayan, CEO of Specialities Group Holdings, said: “We actually considered other yards as far afield as Europe, but Grandweld offered a compelling combination of advanced shipbuilding technology, management know-how, and a demonstrated ability to deliver premium products and service. We are confident of Grandweld's ability to deliver the tugs that meet our expectations, all within the specified timeframe.”-- TradeArabia News Service