Qatar-based Aamal Company Q.S.C. is venturing into vessel ownership and has set up a new subsidiary named Aamal for Maritime Transportation Services (AMTS) to pursue opportunities in this business sector.
As informed, AMTS will take ownership of vessels initially to transport aggregates from Al Fujairah in the UAE to Mesaieed Industrial City in Qatar.
By adding its own vessels AMTS aims to ensure security of supply for Aamal’s subsidiary Gulf Rocks, importer and provider of high quality gabbro aggregates, which are widely used in concrete products essential to Qatar’s infrastructure development program as part of its National Vision 2030.
In addition to meeting Aamal’s transportation requirements, AMTS will make capacity available to third party operators to optimise the vessels’ utilisation rates and profitability.
Commercial operations will start immediately as the acquisition of the first vessel, a bulk carrier with a capacity of 56,726 tonnes, has been completed.
Operational management of AMTS’s vessels will be undertaken by Peter Döhle Group under a fixed term rolling service agreement.
“Owning our own vessels will give us greater control over security of supply of the raw materials that we need to import, whilst operational risk is minimised through partnering with Peter Döhle Group, a leading and highly respected global provider of shipping services, to manage this subsidiary,” said Sheikh Mohamed Bin Faisal Al Thani, Vice Chairman of Aamal.
Tarek M. El Sayed, Managing Director of Aamal, added: “ We expect at first to be limiting ourselves to importing aggregates from the UAE, essential for manufacturing concrete to meet Qatar’s growing infrastructure requirements, but this type of vessel has the capability to transport other commodities too, both industrial and non-industrial. This versatility, along with the opportunities to charter out capacity to third party operators when not required by Aamal, greatly enhances the profit potential.”
AMTS will have an initial share capital of QAR 200,000, which will be internally funded through cash, and without any debt financing. Aamal will hold 1% of the shares directly, with the remaining 99% held by Gulf Rocks. Aamal will have an overall effective interest of 74.75% in AMTS.