Jadaf Dubai, the oldest ship repair yard in the Arabian Gulf area, has announced a 14 per cent increase in ship lifting operations during the first quarter of 2005, compared to the same period last year. The Dock No.1 at Jadaf Dubai which handles all types of sea faring vessels weighing up to 250 deadweight tonnes (DWT), reported a 17 per cent increase in operations. The dock was involved in the docking and undocking of 428 ships in the first three months of 2005, while Dock No. II handled 158 ships weighing 2500 DWT.
The significant rise in dredging activities for the various offshore projects in Dubai has increased the need for regular maintenance of the ships used for dredging. Today, Jadaf Dubai is the leading dock in the world in terms of annual ship lifting operations, with more than 2181 such operations being carried out in 2004, whereas the European docks managed 300 operations in the year. Jadaf Dubai specialises in docking and undocking of ships, while the repair and maintenance is done within the shipyard by other companies.
Mohammed Ali Abdulla Al Ghaithi, Deputy Operations Manager, Jadaf Dubai, said: “We received requests for our services from ship owners, cargo companies and maintenance companies. The technical staff at Jadaf will decide the dock to which the particular ship has to be taken, after studying the dimensions and blueprint of the ship.”
“Of the total number of technical staff at Jadaf Dubai, nearly 70 per cent are UAE nationals. The technical staff is responsible for the ship lifting process, which is the most complex and crucial process in our operation. The team of locals learnt the techniques of ship lifting on their own and mastered them gradually under the guidance and supervision of the managers. They are recognised as the most skilled personnel in this field in the Middle East region.”
Jadaf Dubai is the chosen dock for many fleets like Seabulk International, Amasco, Al Jaber, Stanford Marine, Gulf Agency, Inchcape, NMS and Inter Marine, who send their ships regularly to Jadaf for repair and maintenance. The docking yard receives various kinds of yachts, passenger ships and oil tankers.
Docking and undocking of ships is a complex operation requiring plenty of experience, precision and expertise in reading ship blueprints. The maintenance of shipyards and repair docks require extensive experience in different areas such as, fire fighting and marine safety protection, security and occupational hazards and Jadaf Dubai is fully equipped in all these areas.
Since the last 28 years, Jadaf Dubai is known for maintaining and repairing ships coming from different countries, including South Asian, African and European countries. The increasing number of docking and undocking operations have given valuable experience to the staff and has prompted several countries to send their employees to Jadaf Dubai for training. Further, the training and development department at Jadaf Dubai is also working on developing a training programme that can be used to attract more trainers from other countries in the region.
