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The Port of Baltimore
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September/October 2012
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process includes trucking, ocean carriage,
and air transportation by commercial and
military aircraft.
NSCSA was formed in 1979 by a royal
decree and is the National Flag Carrier of
Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabian government
owns 29 percent of Bahri, with the rest
widely held in public shares. The company
is 100 percent Saudi Arabian-owned.
The company started with a small fleet
of ro/ro/container vessels specializing in
the movement of project cargoes destined
for major infrastructural development
projects in Saudi Arabia.
In 1996, Bahri invested in large oil
tankers (known as Very Large Crude
Carriers, or VLCCs). This past June, Bahri
and Saudi Aramco signed a memorandum
of understanding to merge the fleets and
operations of Bahri and Vela International
Marine Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary
of Saudi Aramco. The proposed merger,
expected to be finalized in 2013, would
position Bahri as the fourth-largest owner
of VLCCs in the world, with 32 vessels.
This past August, Bahri began operating
a 60 percent-owned subsidiary, Bahri Dry
Bulk, in partnership with the Arabian
Agricultural Services Company (ARASCO),
which imports grain into Saudi Arabia
from North and South America and other
exporting countries. The company has
contracted to build five new dry-bulk ships.
Bahri presently owns and operates
one of the world’s biggest fleets, which
includes 17 VLCCs, 25 chemical tankers
and four multipurpose ro/ro/container
vessels. Bahri vessels call regularly at
the Dundalk Marine Terminal, where Ports
America provides stevedoring and terminal
services. The company has ordered six new
multipurpose ships from Hyundai MIPO
shipyard to be delivered starting early
2013.
The new ships, having 26,000 DWT,
are each 738 feet long (225 meters) and
equipped with two heavy cranes.
“
The new ships incorporate green
technologies and will be far more fuel
efficient,” said Charlie Atkinson, National
Sales Manager.
Bahri remains true to its history by
continuing to focus on general cargo and
calling regularly on Baltimore. “What has
changed is that we’ve moved away from
cargo that was equally divided among
containers, breakbulk and ro/ro. Going
forward, we will be significantly reducing our
container cargo capacity,” Capt Khan said.
“
But we’ve drastically increased our capacity
in our niche cargo segment of project
Bahri
At-a-Glance
❯
One of the world’s largest
shipping companies, Bahri operates
a diversified fleet of double-hulled
VLCCs, chemical carriers, and dry-
bulk and ro/ro ships.
❯
Bahri General Cargo, Baltimore
employs 40 people, with
operations throughout the U.S.
❯
Coordinated from Baltimore are
U.S. foreign military sales exports;
import and export of commercial
ro/ro, breakbulk, project and
containerized cargo; and cargo
movements overseas between
non-U.S. ports.
❯
Bahri has ordered six new
multipurpose ro/ro ships that will
regularly call the Port of Baltimore.
❯
Bahri dry-bulk vessels will call
North America for the export of
U.S. grain shipments.
❯
Bahri presently calls the Port
of Baltimore twice every 24 days,
annually averaging about 16
voyages
.
❯
Bahri is expanding and entering
diversified areas of the shipping
business and has become a truly
global company.
❯
In March, Governor Martin
O’Malley joined more than 350
Maryland business leaders at the
16
th annual World Trade Center
Institute’s International Business
Leadership Awards program and
announced that Maryland’s trade
exports climbed 7 percent in 2011 to
$10.8 billion. Capt. Ahmed Khan of
Bahri was awarded the International
Business Leadership Award for 2012.
Top, a composite illustration of a new-design Bahri vessel. Above, Maryland Governor Martin
O’Malley, left, and World Trade Center Institute President and Executive Director Deborah Kielty
recently congratulated Capt. Ahmed Khan of Bahri on receiving the International Business
Leadership Award for 2012.