Stanford Marine
Fleets ahead
Stanford Marine LLC is a UAEbased subsidiary of the GMMOS group, a major oil and gas services company operating throughout the Gulf and the Caspian Sea.
The group is comprised of GMMOS and GMMOS Kazakhstan, which provide general engineering and pressure vessel specialised fabrication; Grandweld, which offers specialist ship building and repair, as well as the conversion of offshore vessels and super yachts; Gmmostech, which provides tanker and large vessel repair; and Gallagher, a leading heavy lift specialist.
Based in Dubai, Stanford Marine’s areas of operation focus upon marine chartering, where it provides a full range of offshore support to the oil and gas industry. The company owns and operates a total of 34 offshore support vessels across the Middle East and Far East. These vessels specialise in a range of services, including towing, rig-moving, anchor handling, safety, standby services and drilling support.
Vincent Weve is the general manager of Stanford Marine, and he elaborates upon how the company grew to the level it has reached today: “The company was established in 1997 and, since then, it has rapidly developed into an all-round offshore company with a well-diversified fleet. Today, we are perfectly equipped to service the oil and gas sector in the Persian Gulf and, in 2007, we were acquired by two of the largest private equity investors in the Middle East.”
The investors Vincent refers to are Abraaj Capital and Waha Capital, and it is partly thanks to them that the company has been able to continue its expansion. He reveals: “We have really been able to grow thanks to their involvement, and now we can offer anything from crew boats and anchor handling tugs to dynamic positioning and support or intervention vessels.”
The wide variety of vessels that Stanford Marine boasts enables it to offer a one-stopshop for its customers, according to Vincent: “Through our diversified fleet we can deliver a full spread of vessels, which allows our clients to have one focal point of contact. Furthermore, we have an in-house shipbuilding and repair facility, through which we can reduce mechanic downtime to a minimum and upgrade our vessels quickly in compliance with client requests. There are not that many marine operators on the market today that can offer a similar one-stop package to their customers.”
The company also prides itself on its flexibility, as Vincent reveals with one example: “One of our clients, a major upstream company in Dubai, has chartered our crew boat, Sea Eagle, for three months. After two weeks we identified a problem in which personnel had to board and leave the boat on the corners of the platform if the current was at a certain level. This was considered a trip and fall hazard and so, immediately after the notification, we informed our in-house ship build facility. Within just 24 hours the boat landing areas were modified and a new support frame was installed. Our client was extremely satisfied, and this is just one example of the kind of flexibility that can be expected when working with Stanford Marine.”
Stanford Marine works closely with its customers in the oil and gas sector, and they play an important part in the company’s development. Vincent gives an example of some of these clients: “Our key customers are the oil and gas majors in the upstream segment of the industry. Three of our key clients are based in Qatar, which is why we have recently opened an office there to support our vessels in these waters and serve our Qatari clients locally. We also have branches in Abu Dhabi, India and Singapore, which allows us to closely monitor the markets there. In addition, we have several vessels on charter in Indonesia, a market that we are also expanding into.”
At present, the company has a number of significant contracts underway – as Vincent highlights: “We are very proud to have been awarded a two-year contract for two PSVs for supporting gas production for a major Qatari LNG company. One of these is the MPL Kestrel, a 5,000 BHP, 72-metre, DP2 platform supply vessel. The other is the MMPL Merlin, which will commence its charter later this year. With another eight platform supply vessels being built at present, we have a clear focus on the DP PSV market and we look forward to showing the market that we can smoothly embrace these vessels into our fleet operations.”
With so many projects underway, Stanford Marine will continue to develop its services for many years to come. Vincent concludes: “We have the potential to become a key player in the global offshore operator sector in terms of our fleet size, operating standards and safety measures. Our team of shipping professionals will continue to support our clients to the best extent, and with the support from our shareholders and affiliated sister companies, there is significant potential to be realised.”
Stanford Marine
Services: Offshore marine support