LSI’s Second Half of 2020
2020 was certainly the year that will go down in the history as the year of Covid-19/Corona. Around the world, many people have suffered the consequences either directly or indirectly. Many people lost loved ones, cities and countries in lockdown, borders closed, airlines grounded causing unemployment amongst others whilst medical staff around the world battled with the pandemic. So a big thanks to them.
Shipping generally fared quite well depending on the market segment at the same time it was very challenging from a logistics point of view due to the travel restrictions, border closures which drastically slowed down sign-on/sign-off of seafarers on vessels. LSI also had to deal with all these restrictions and would like to thank all the crew for their continuous support.
During all of 2020, LSI continued to navigate these choppy waters successfully and hold its course thanks to all its personnel and staff.
Practicing precautionary measures have become a habit by now, and we are happy to announce by the end of February 2021, 55% of LSI personnel/crew/staff/managers had been vaccinated with 2 doses already which was multiple times the world average. This was largely thanks to the UAE government which made vaccination available and their utmost priority! So we have a great deal of appreciation to the UAE and well done to everyone who made this possible!
During the Second Half of 2020, LSI remained very active especially in Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Umm Al Quwain whilst its traditional market of Dubai remained subdued for marine projects. The Emphasis in the second half was more on small and medium-size project contributions instead of big projects.
The second half of the year went with an occupancy rate of 60.53% which was better than what was expected given the circumstances. A total of 5,123 days of on-hire was recorded over the fleet.
We were also more than thrilled to be part of the Hatta Pump Storage Hydro Power Plant Project that took place at the iconic location of Hatta Dam. Clean Energy is the future a lot of us look forward to, and having to work on such a project in the beautiful mountain region was also a first for LSI, as the project was based in a landlocked mountain area with our vessels that are usually on the open sea or in dedicated ports. Our Modular Spud Barge: Wadi Ann and Tugboat Tuna Ann gained celebrity status especially due to visits by famous personnel such as Steve Harvey, famous blogger Nuseir of “Nas Daily” and KHL published article.
Other projects namely such as relocating a small floating jetty at Ras Al Khaimah which included piling jobs, soil investigation projects carried out by our Jack-Up Barge Stork Ann, Jetty Expansion Project at Bahrain, the building of a floating pedestrian and light vehicle bridge to a mangrove Island (nature reserve) in Abu Dhabi by Sheet Piling and Tubular Piling jobs, long term projects such as the Dubai Harbour Project, etc. have all kept us busy amongst other projects and spot towages.
The company also did drydock of its vessels. Vessels such as Tuna Ann, Harbour Ann, Kathleen Ann, Mina Ann, Stork Ann were drydocked in-house by our capable Technical Department Team at LSI Jetty at Hamriyah Free Zone Port, Sharjah, while Khor Ann 2 and Suez Ann underwent drydocking at Al Jazeera Port. All vessels were successfully launched immediately after drydocking, well in time to meet the demands of various projects.
In our technical department, there was a change of guard in the Technical Manager role which was taken over by Mr. Tom van Houten after the retirement of Mr. Wim Boshoven who was with the company for over 2 decades.
We are also joined by our new Port Engineer: Mr. Anwar Sadath who is the direct contact for vessel technical assistance. With our widely growing fleet, Mr. Anwar will be responsible for all repairs and maintenance of our fleet overlooked by our Technical Manager: Mr. Tom van Houten.
Our outlook for 2021 has improved as more people around the world get vaccinated and the world making its way to a new normal. We are hopeful economies around the world will start to improve towards the end of the year and life and business can go back to at least towards the new normal.
Further, we hope to bring positive news in the first half of 2021 about our current expansion drive. So stay tuned!
We wish everyone all the very best and the very best of health during these challenging times. With everyone practicing precautionary measures, undertaking vaccinations, and dealing with a lot of patience, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, so heads up.
