Dammam, Saudi Arabia – International Maritime Industries (IMI), the largest shipyard in the MENA region, has signed a long-term agreement with Bahri Logistics, one of Bahri’s business units, to enhance its supply chain through state-of-the-art warehousing and logistics services.

The agreement supports IMI’s commitment to developing the Saudi maritime industry and will further enable IMI to offer its customers a highly responsive localized supply chain that reduces risk, lowers costs, and speeds up response times. Dr. Abdullah Al Ahmari, Chief Executive Officer of IMI, and Eng. Soror Basalom, Bahri Logistics President signed the agreement during Saudi Maritime Congress 2022 taking place in Dammam from 28-29 September. 

Under the agreement, IMI will leverage Bahri Logistics’ expertise to operate and manage three warehouses and a total of 33 stores across its yard in Ras Al Khair, Saudi Arabia. In addition, Bahri Logistics will handle the transportation of materials required for new build and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) operations from local and international suppliers to IMI’s premises, including inland transportation and customs clearance. 

The three warehouses will cover a combined area of around 30,000 square meters – including storage and workshop areas – and will be located in Zones C and D of IMI’s yard, which focuses on new-build activities for commercial vessels and offshore jackup rigs and lift boats. The 33 stores will be distributed across various yard zones. Bahri Logistics will design, install, and manage the day-to-day operations of all the storage systems.

Dr. Abdullah Al Ahmari said: “We are pleased to sign this agreement with Bahri Logistics and further our partnership with Bahri, a global leader in transport and logistics and one of our four founding JV partners. This agreement reflects Bahri’s ongoing commitment to supporting our efforts to build a world-class shipyard with an advanced and fully integrated supply chain, that will help drive the development of Saudi Arabia’s maritime industry. IMI is built on a foundation of key partnerships with leading industry companies, and working with a leading logistics provider such as Bahri Logistics further enhances our strong product and service offerings.”

Eng. Soror Basalom, President, Bahri Logistics said: “We are delighted to have signed this agreement with our partner, IMI. Through our comprehensive portfolio of services and strong track record of industrial logistics projects, we are confident in our ability to fulfill IMI’s storage and logistics needs. Working with IMI to leverage our technical expertise and facilitate knowledge transfer and capacity building, we are proud to be contributing to the development of the Saudi maritime industry under Vision 2030.”

IMI, a joint venture between leading industry partners Saudi Aramco, Bahri, Lamprell, and HHI, is the largest shipyard in the MENA region at nearly 12 million square meters. It provides new build and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services for commercial vessels, including VLCCs, Bulk Carriers, Offshore Support Vessels, and Offshore Jackup rigs.