United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) announced the appointment of Dr. Nabeel Al-Amudi as the new Chairman of the Company’s Board of Directors, and Sheikh Ali bin Jassim bin Mohammad Al-Thani, as Vice-Chairman.
Dr. Al Amudi, Al-Thani and the rest of the board will be responsible for driving the company’s global expansion plans and spearheading the company’s efforts to cement UASC’s positions as the market leader in the Middle East and as an emerging global carrier.
Dr. Al-Amudi is currently the President of the Saudi Ports Authority. Prior to joining the Saudi Ports Authority, Dr. Al-Amudi held several managerial and leadership positions in Saudi Aramco and its various subsidiaries, including presidency of Aramco Services Company which is based in Houston, Texas. During his tenure at Saudi Aramco, Dr. Al-Amudi assisted in starting up the Ras Tanura Refinery Expansion Project; he was also involved in the development, negotiation and implementation of a number of pioneering Saudi Aramco joint ventures and financings, including the Rabigh Development Project (Petro Rabigh) and the Saudi Aramco Total Refinery Project (SATORP).
Sheikh Ali Al-Thani is currently the Chairman of Qatar’s prominent shipping company, Milaha, and is appointed to the Board of Directors of Qatar Holding. He started his career at the Ministry of Finance in Qatar as a financial analyst in the Investment Bureau. In 1992, he was given the responsibility for managing direct investments on behalf of the Investment Bureau, which was later transformed into the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). Since his appointment to Milaha in 2009, Sheikh Ali Al-Thani has overseen the development of the organization to form a multi-faceted shipping, maritime services and logistics company.
Al-Amudi’s and Sheikh Al-Thani’s strong leadership experience and solid track record in spearheading complex and large organizations will be crucial as UASC moves forward with its global expansion plans. UASC is currently undergoing one of the industry’s largest and most technologically advanced newbuilding programs, recently naming the world’s most eco-efficient ultra-large container vessel. With a loading capacity of 18,800TEU, the DNV GL classed vessel M.V. ‘Barzan’ is the greenest ultra-large vessel in the world and the largest in UASC’s fleet to date.
Over the past year, UASC has also announced the signing of two key cooperation agreements. Building on the already existing cooperation agreements with China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL), UASC signed a tri-partite cooperation agreement with leading liner shipping company CMA CGM and with CSCL to create the Ocean 3 alliance. In addition, a long-term general cooperation agreement was entered into with The Hamburg Süd Group, initially providing UASC’s customers with broad access to the East Coast of South America.
