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Leading UAE-based ship agency group, Seamaster, is expanding its owned vessel fleet with the delivery of SM-7 Sudha. The 42-passenger capacity crew supply vessel was handed over by Dubai shipyard, Premier Marine Engineering Services, on 15th October, further strengthening the group’s capabilities in this sector.
Company founder and Group Managing Director, Rashid Isa Rishi Al Heddi, says, “It is a great honour to be able to welcome this new vessel, which is named after my late mother. We are a family run business and having a personal connection with the vessels in our fleet means a lot to us.”
The vessel, the biggest yet in the Seamaster fleet, is 23.9m in length, 6.8m in breadth and has a maximum draft of 1.54m. As well as having a high passenger capacity, the UAE-flagged, BV-classed vessel will be able to carry 30 tonnes of deck cargo and operate at speeds of up to 24 knots.
Rishi says, “This is the fifth vessel in the series and they keep getting bigger and better. SM-7 Sudha is a very capable vessel that we plan to operate primarily in UAE waters, although a charter to operate in Iraq is under discussion.”
Rishi, who runs Seamaster together with son Ramee, who is in charge of day-to-day operations, says Seamaster has enjoyed a very positive year to date in 2023, with drydock vessel handling, STS transfer activities and vessel supply work off the anchorage in Fujairah all contributing positively. In addition, the logistics side of the business is booming, with double the volume of spare parts being handled compared with 2022 levels.
The business now employs 75 people and with the delivery of the new vessel, Seamaster is looking forward to a period of further growth. “We are already looking at possibly acquiring further vessels,” says Rishi, “so the future is highly promising.”
