Saudi shipping company Bahri plans to nearly double its fleet and expand its share of the country’s trade, as the Middle Eastern energy producer strengthens its economy by channeling more business through its national champions.
“We are at the cusp of an unprecedented expansion at Bahri,” Chief Executive Officer Ahmed Al-Subaey said in an interview. Bahri, formally called National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia, is set to grow by capturing a larger share of business from the nation’s oil, chemicals and industrial companies, he said.
Saudi Arabia is pursuing ambitious domestic growth plans that include building new industries like manufacturing and technology. Part of this strategy involves encouraging Saudi companies to buy from their national counterparts. State oil producer Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest crude exporter, also owns Sabic, one of the largest chemical makers globally.
Bahri currently handles only about 15% of Aramco’s global oil trade and, until recently, didn’t serve the lucrative routes for shipping crude and products between Saudi ports on the Persian Gulf and Red Sea. Picking up that trade gives Bahri substantial scope for growth, as the company is starting from a low base, Al-Subaey said.
Bahri announced Wednesday that it has ordered Saudi Arabia’s first domestically built bulk cargo carriers from International Maritime Industries. The $205 million deal is for six of the carriers — four under contract with an option for two more, Al-Subaey said. Deliveries are scheduled before the end of the decade.
Bahri plans to buy 20 very large crude carriers (VLCCs) from IMI for delivery between 2029 and 2030, Al-Subaey said. The company currently has 50 VLCCs, and expanding the fleet would make Bahri the world’s leading operator of the vessels, he said.
The VLCC and bulk carrier contracts are part of a longer-term offtake agreement under which Bahri plans to acquire as many as 52 new vessels from IMI over the next decade. IMI, which operates a new shipyard at Ras Al Khair on the Persian Gulf coast, is jointly owned by Bahri and Aramco alongside international partners Lamprell Energy Ltd. and Hyundai Heavy Industries Co.
In total, Bahri plans to add more than 90 vessels to its fleet, nearly doubling its current 108 ships, Al-Subaey said.