In 2021, Stanford Marine Group faced various challenges that were overcome with the hard work and dedication of our team. The ability to adapt and be flexible was crucial this year as we had to work through a still worrying pandemic.

During this year, Stanford Marine successfully operated a diverse fleet of 35 OSVs across the GCC. Charter rates remained under pressure, however fleet utilization reached a level of 89% for the year.

Our objective is to maintain a high fleet utilization north of 90% and selectively expand our geographical footprint. Our commitment to further reduce our operational cost in 2022 across the Group companies remains undiminished; higher revenue and lower operational cost is what we are striving for.

Building on our continued ‘LTI free’ operations, the HSEQ team has this year increased the requirement for safety observations. These are the lowest level of intervention therefore aiming to ensure the crew tackle potential incidents before they materialize into something more serious. We have seen an increase of 44% on the numbers received in 2020, taking the total for 2021 to over 36,000 cards. Such numbers posed issues for the department in administering the data so the process was digitized and incorporated into our ERP system for ease of tracking and trending. Further process digitized is planned to ensure Stanford Marine continues as one of the world class players in our industry.

Grandweld secured multiple shipbuilding contracts worth $29 Million in 2021, from customers in the GCC. Grandweld also delivered 9 vessels to various customers. The ship building business will remain busy throughout FY 22 executing the backlog of 4 crew boats and 1 FSV for UAE customer as well as 4 harbor tugs for a Kuwaiti customer. All of these vessels are expected to be delivered over the course of 2022 and 2023. Ship repair revenue bounced back and order intake rose steadily due to uptick in booking for dry dockings and other repairs which were postponed by vessel owners in FY 20 due to COVID-19. It is anticipated that the positive momentum on repair will continue in FY 22.

We are proud to continue making positive contributions to social issues such as education, health and wellness, economic development and environmental sustainability in the UAE. Year on year, we continue to support centers and initiatives such as Al Noor Training Centre for Children with Special Needs, the Rashid Pediatric Therapy Centre, and The Angel Appeal. At SMG we believe that such community support improves our social awareness as an organization and benefits those in need.

The year ahead will undoubtedly bring more challenges but with our ongoing commitment and support from our clients, we will continue to work towards our goals.

In summary, I would like to express my gratitude to our strong customer base as we continue to deliver positive outcomes. I would also like to thank the whole SMG team for their continued support and dedication.

Elias Nassif
CEO