Matthew Tremblay is the Regional Vice President of the Middle East for ABS, one of the world’s leading classification organizations. In this interview, he discusses the biggest opportunities and priorities for the Saudi Arabian maritime sector for the next five years, as well as the areas of collaboration between Saudi Arabia and the wider maritime industry.
Seatrade Maritime: What do you see as the biggest opportunities in the maritime sector of Saudi Arabia?
Matthew Tremblay: Saudi Arabia is uniquely positioned both by location and by local infrastructure to grow significantly and be a key hub in the maritime industry moving forward, whether that's within the hydrocarbons industry or as a transshipment hub, or as a region supporting marine and offshore repair and construction. Saudi Arabia is very well positioned to continue to grow and move forward as a leader in the industry.
SM: What are some of the priorities for your business in Saudi Arabia in the next five years?
MT: ABS is firstly positioned to make sure that we're supporting the Saudi Vision 2030. This is something we believe in very strongly and we're dedicated to supporting it primarily. We intend to do that around technology development, around the development of people and around the development of sustainable technologies and processes and procedures to support future sustainable operations in the maritime and offshore industry in the region.
SM: What are some of the biggest areas of collaboration between Saudi Arabia and the wider maritime industry?
MT: The Kingdom must work together with the wider maritime industry in the areas of technology development and investment around that; in training and building people within the region who are prepared to support the industry as it grows moving forward.
And then as well around the initiatives that support sustainable operations in the future moving forward. Whether that's carbon capture, whether that's the production of alternative fuels or the development and construction of vessels that are going to be able to operate more cleanly and efficiently as we move forward into a sustainable operation by 2050. The kingdom is doing really well in the development of its education support systems, whether it's universities or specific training relative to maritime operations and construction and continuing to create opportunities for local citizens in the kingdom to get local training. To support the needs of the maritime industry, growth in the Kingdom moving forward is going to be key.
