Safeen Feeders, the liner arm of Abu Dhabi’s AD Ports Group, is entering the dry bulk sector through a partnership with Bangladeshi conglomerate Saif Powertec.
Under a 15-year trade facilitation and shipping agreement signed by the two companies, Safeen will provide eight supramax bulk carriers taken on bareboat and time charters to the jointly owned and operated bulk shipping services company.
The bulkers will initially carry cargoes from Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates to the ports of Chattogram and Mongla in Bangladesh, but the venture will also oversee cargo operations to the Indian subcontinent, South East Asia and other global destinations.
The scope of the agreement covers future areas of collaboration to develop and invest in the maritime infrastructure and projects of Bangladesh and the UAE.
Safeen, which AD Ports launched in 2020 with Singapore-based Bengal Tiger Line as a strategic partner, operates regional feeder container services in the Middle East and Indian subcontinent.
The company started with chartered vessels, but once established in the market, began supplementing these with directly owned ships.
The move into dry bulk was described by Captain Maktoum Al Houqani, AD Port’s maritime cluster chief executive, as a way to provide a fast, low-cost service for Safeen customers’ dry bulk shipping needs.
The service, he said, is “well-positioned to accelerate the trade of dry construction materials between the UAE and Bangladesh, along with other dry cargo goods to key markets across the region and beyond”.
Saif Powertec is listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange and is active in ports, logistics, civil engineering and renewable energy. It operates four of Bangladesh’s largest container terminals.
Managing director Tarafder MD Ruhul Amin said the partnership will “greatly enhance our capabilities as Bangladesh’s sole terminal operator to facilitate the movement of dry cargo at the international level”.
AD Ports is a large conglomerate listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange that operates commercial ports in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Investments in the ports, logistics and shipping sectors are among many different verticals within its business portfolio.
