ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, March 29 (UPI) -- Abu Dhabi Ship Building says it plans to increase its maintenance, repair and overhauling services for local and international customers.
At present, the company handles about 300 repair and upgrade projects for a variety of vessels -- both afloat and at dry dock.
Clients include the country's military as well as foreign navies.
"We are keen on leveraging our vast expertise in MRO services with the increased focus on this domain," Mohamed Salem al-Junaibi, chief executive officer of Abu Dhabi Ship Building said.
"Our world-class shipbuilding and repair facility has given us a significant competitive edge in the regional market, as we are able to undertake new construction projects in steel, aluminum alloy or composite materials."
Junabibi made his comments at the Doha International Maritime Defense Exhibition and Conference in Qatar, where the company is seeking to garner long-term contracts and partnerships to exploit growing demand for specialized naval support services in the region.
Abu Dhabi Ship Building also announced that the first and second vessels of the Baynunah Corvette Class program of the United Arab Emirates will be delivered to the Emirates' navy by the end of summer.
The corvettes -- there will be six in all -- will be used for a variety of missions, including coastal patrol and surveillance and helicopter operations. Their systems include anti-ship missiles, air-defense missiles, 3-D surveillance and a Multivendor electronic warfare suite.
