Middle-East yards could benefit as Houthis pledge to stop attacking non-Israeli vessels
ASRY could see a rebound in bookings following resumption of Red Sea transits (Source: ASRY)
Houthi pledges to end attacks on most ships will be a boon for Middle-East shipyards, some of which have seen a change in their patterns of bookings as a result of vessels steering clear of the region.
Noting a downward trend in the proportion of its international business, to 51% in year-to-September from 53% in the same period in the year before, Bahrain’s Arab Ship Repair Yard (ASRY) said that “more regional clients” were taking the place of international vessels, a fact it attributed to the Red Sea crisis: “A significant influencer on this trend of more regional clients making up the client base has been the re-routing of international ships to avoid the Red Sea, and therefore opting not to repair in the Arabian Gulf.”
This month, ASRY signed an agreement with the Arab Maritime Petroleum Transport Company (AMPTC) to maintain its fleet of tankers.
Instead, ASRY took up Hong Kong Convention and EU Ship Recycling Regulation compliant ship recycling to plug the gaps. In July last year, the yard formed a partnership with A.P. Møller-Maersk to establish new ship recycling capabilities, which would produce recycled steel to assist the decarbonisation in construction and other industries.
Now, a resumption of Red Sea transits could bring international bookings back to the yard.
