Columbia Shipmanagement (CSM) and Marine Capabilities (MARCAP LLC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Abu Dhabi that will lead innovation and shape the technological future of the maritime sector in the Middle East Gulf region.

The two organisations, who place quality performance, targets and goals at the heart of what they do, will initially focus their partnership on ship management, crewing, IT and Performance Optimisation and will work to identify new opportunities to challenge the existing status quo by generating vessel performance optimisation models that will shape the future of the maritime sector in the Gulf.

With close to 40 years’ experience, Marcap is one of the main marine service providers in the region with around 30 vessels serving the largest oilfield and construction companies across the Arabian Gulf (including both United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), the Arabian Sea, and across the Red Sea.

CSM is a leading integrated maritime and logistics services platform with a focus on performance optimisation and using advanced digital technologies to deliver its services. It is already focusing heavily on delivering digitised solutions to the region via its office in Saudi Arabia and sees its partnership with Marcap as an opportunity to strengthen the digital credentials of the Gulf.

CSM and Marcap are operating in a region that is forward-looking and future-oriented and have a mutual understanding that the future will be driven by technological advances in key areas like crew welfare and cost-competitiveness together with vessel performance optimisation. The confidence that the resulting sizeable value of this partnership will lead to massive benefits is undisputable, they feel.

Commenting on this partnership during the signing ceremony, Mark O’Neil, President and CEO of CSM, said: “We are very excited to be partnering and cooperating with Marcap. I think from the first meeting we had with Mr. Qiblawi and all of Marcap’s team, we realised they are a company that mirrored our culture and corporate values. We are very excited to be working together, to seize the opportunities and face the challenges of the region which are obvious to everyone. We are very keen on developing the market in Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf region, where the opportunities are immense. With friends like Marcap, I think everything is possible.”

On the same level, Marcap President & CEO Samer Qiblawi, added: “We met in Cyprus two weeks ago, with a very warm-hearted welcome. We look forward to this cooperation with a lot of hope and enthusiasm, trusting it to be a very fruitful cooperation, to expand in terms of skills and capacities in the markets we work in. CSM also shares this outlook and we are proud to be in partnership with one of the key players in the maritime industry. We certainly welcome this partnership with all our friends at Columbia Shipmanagement.”