Western Marine hands over three more vessels to UAE firm

CHATTOGRAM, Nov 20: Western Marine Shipyard Ltd, a leading shipbuilder, has exported three more ships to the UAE.
The three landing craft vessels named 'Maya', 'Emy' And 'Muna' were handed over to Marwan Shipping Ltd during a delivery ceremony held at the company's facility in Patiya on Thursday.
Abdulla Ali Abdulla Alhmoudi, the UAE Ambassador to Bangladesh, was present at the handover ceremony as the chief guest and Abdur Rahim Khan, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Administrator of the FBCCI as the special guest.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairman of Western Marine Shipyard Saiful Islam said, "It is a historic moment for the shipbuilding sector of Bangladesh as Western Marine is exporting three ships in a single day to the UAE, a non-traditional export market for Bangladesh."
He emphasised the importance of diversifying the country's export sector to avoid over-reliance on a single product, which could lead to economic vulnerability.
"Shipbuilding is a labour-intensive, high-tech, and heavy industry that generates multi-million-dollar revenues from even a single export," Islam said.
He urged for a shift towards exporting high-value products, which he believes will strengthen Bangladesh's position as a global economic player.
Managing Director of Western Marine Captain Sohail Hasan said the company signed a contract in 2023 with UAE-based 'Marwan Shipping Ltd' to build eight ships, including two tugboats, four landing crafts, and two tankers.
The company delivered one 69-metre landing craft, 'Rayan', and two high-power tugboats, 'Khalid' and 'Ghaya', this year, he said.
The Western Marine first exported a ship to Marwan Shipping in 2017. To date, the company has exported 36 ships to 11 countries, with a total value exceeding USD 138 million.

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