Bureau Veritas well positioned for growth in the Middle East

Jamil Al Ali, Middle East Regional Commercial and Business Development Director, Bureau Veritas M&O, Dubai, UAE (Bureau Veritas)[61].jpg
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One of the Middle East’s most prominent classification society officials has spoken of positive prospects for Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore (M&O) in 2023 in the region, as the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, especially the UAE and Saudi Arabia, continue to witness rapid development.

In the fourth in a series of interviews ahead of Seatrade Maritime Logistics Middle East, Jamil Al Ali, Middle East Regional Trade and Business Development Director, Bureau Veritas M&O, Dubai, UAE, spoke to Seatrade Maritime News about developments in the industry.

“In 2022, Bureau Veritas M&O continued its strong performance and successfully achieved its growth targets for the Middle East region,” he said. “The company is now well positioned to grow the business, maintaining our strong customer relationships built on trust over the years and expanding our footprint in the region. We believe these steps will greatly help us to achieve the projected growth trajectory through 2023.”

Bureau Veritas anticipates strong growth areas in the Middle East today, Al Ali believes, with the unit now expanding across the region, particularly in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar. Earlier this year, Bureau Veritas inaugurated its new regional headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, more than 30 years after the company first entered the Kingdom.

“The Middle East in general and Saudi Arabia (in particular) are experiencing an exciting time, with ambitious expansion and futuristic development plans moving forward rapidly. As a result, we are expanding our footprint in Saudi Arabia to be proactive in our approach and to be better positioned to closely support our key customers and position ourselves to serve these growing customer demands,” said Al Ali.

Over the past year, the group has achieved very strong growth in all global regions, including the Middle East and Africa regions, “as it continued to benefit from the development of numerous projects as oil prices recovered,” according to its 2022 annual report.

According to its annual report for the last year, Bureau Veritas Saudi Arabia received a 2022 Partner Excellence Award from Neom’s Engineering and Technical Services Division. In 2020, Bureau Veritas awarded its Safeguard Label to 50 Aramco facilities, including office buildings, schools, public facilities, a leisure center, restaurants, gyms and a library at locations across the Kingdom. Audits and on-site inspections took place in the facilities.

“There is an increased demand for both traditional classification services and the additional range of services we offer our customers, particularly during transition periods, to help them better prepare for, and thereby enable, the increasingly difficult challenges associated with decarbonization to enable them to reduce their carbon footprint as mandated by IMO, EU and other regulators,” he said.

Earlier in his career, Al Ali held various positions at Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC), including Manager Fleet New Building Projects Group.

Al Ali commends the company’s increased engagement and focus on the Middle East maritime sector, especially given the growing recognition of the UAE as a viable maritime cluster on a global scale.

He played a key role at the recent ShipTek conference in Dubai in February, leading a heated debate on the region’s important decarbonization plans. “I was delighted to have the opportunity to moderate the panel discussion entitled ‘Maritime 2023-2030: Opportunities & Challenges that lie a’, which was hailed as one of the liveliest and most interactive sessions of the conference,” he said.

“By engaging both the panelists and the audience, and keeping the insightful discussions alive for all concerned, the panel discussion underscored the pivotal role Bureau Veritas M&O can play as a large classification society, bringing together key stakeholders in the shipping industry and facilitating collaboration between them .”

Founded in 1828, Bureau Veritas is a French company that had 1,500 offices and laboratories in 140 countries last year and had a turnover of 5.65 billion euros in 2022.

Jamil Al Ali, Middle East Regional Trade and Business Development Manager, Bureau Veritas M&O, Dubai, speaking at Seatrade Maritime Logistics Middle East, 16-18 May 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Source: News Network

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