- Bahri CEO Highlights Saudi Maritime Sector’s Resilience at 2024 Congress.
- Saudi Maritime Industry Overcomes Major Challenges, Says Bahri CEO.
- Bahri CEO Calls for Digitalization and Collaboration at Saudi Maritime Congress.
According to Bahri CEO Eng. Ahmed Ali Al-Subaey, Saudi Arabia’s shipping industry has weathered countless challenges in ten years. Speaking at the 2024 Saudi Maritime & Logistics Congress in Dammam, he said that the sectoral progress was a resultant output of joint effort between companies and government agencies, reports Seatrade Maritime.
Building a Collaborative Ecosystem
Al-Subaey said the maritime sector in Saudi Arabia is more than just building an industry. It is an entire ecosystem based on co-creation, co-innovation, and co-accomplishment.
Sailing Through Challenges
Reflecting on the ability of the industry to navigate through adversity, Al-Subaey said: “Just like a vessel, we had a choice, either to anchor and hide, to drift as we did in past years, or to sail. And boy, did we sail last year.”
These comments were made to a group of VIPs who attended the two-day Saudi Maritime & Logistics Congress. Bahri is the largest shipowner in Saudi, with a fleet of 92 vessels. It includes 39 VLCCs, and more ships under order.
Geopolitical and Socio-Economic Challenges
Al-Subaey admitted that the socio-economic and geopolitical hurdles facing the kingdom, especially the persistent disruptions in the southern Red Sea, made the safe passage of vessels difficult. The great big problems he said would not have been easy to overcome without collaboration by major players such as Bahri, the Saudi Ministry of Transport and Logistic Services, Mawani, the Saudi Ministry of Investment, and Sofon.
“The entire ecosystem had to work together to overcome these challenges,” he said, stressing the importance of unity across the sector.
Historical hub
“We are joined here today in our beloved Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, not just by the leaders of this industry, but by leaders across the world… you’ve come to the right place, because this Arabian Peninsula, for 5,000 years, has always been across the roads of trade, of shipping, of logistics we intend and are determined in the kingdom to make it an even a bigger node going forward for trade and shipping and logistics.”
Decarbonisation and Digitalisation
While looking at the future, Al-Subaey pointed to the importance of fewer long-term milestones to track progress in achieving decarbonisation. He said that the shipping industry needs shorter milestones to gauge progress on the route to decarbonisation and to ensure the industry can remain agile to meet the world’s needs.
Role of Digitalisation
Al-Subaey said “Digitalisation will be, in my view, the differentiator between the companies that can get ahead and companies that are left behind. It has to start with building an appropriate and robust infrastructure because what is happening on this front will truly revolutionise our industry.”
Bahri’s Strategic Role in Saudi Maritime Congress
Bahri is a strategic founding partner of the Saudi Maritime & Logistics Congress and witnessed a very engaging event, participating across the conference agenda and holding a closed-door roundtable discussion on the pressing issues in the maritime industry.
Looking Ahead to 2025
The Saudi Maritime & Logistics Congress will return to Dammam on 1-2 October 2025 continuing its mission of dealing with the harshest challenges and opportunities at regional and global levels.
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Source: Seatrade Maritime
