Dubai Maritime City partners with Syncrolift AS to improve capabilities of ship lifts

Dubai Maritime City (DMC) has awarded Syncrolift AS, the world’s leading manufacturer of ship lifts and transfer systems, a major contract to upgrade its facilities to reach a capacity of 2,000 docking/undocking operations per year.

Located near Mina Rashid in Dubai, DMC is the multi-purpose industrial and commercial maritime hub of DP World, a leading global supply chain solutions provider.

DMC boasts 2 ship lifts which play a vital role in DMC’s operations by effectively transporting the ships to the dry berths for business partners to provide ship repair services. This supports the supply chain and maritime ecosystem, which is essential to DMC’s Industrial District and its many companies, including Grandweld, Albwardy Damen, and more than 280 others. The partnership serves DMC’s commitment to providing state-of-the-art infrastructure facilities to its strategic shipbuilding and repair partners.

One of the lifts has 28 hoists and is capable of lifting vessels up to 6,000 tonnes and 130 meters in length. The other has 14 hoists and can lift vessels up to 3,000 tonnes and 90 meters in length.

The project is expected to cost AED 38 million and take 450 days to implement. Upon completion, it will boost DMC’s total ship handling capacity from 800 to 2,000 per year.

The latest upgrades are part of a broader initiative to revamp and develop all DMC’s facilities with the goal of transforming the hub into a global icon, seamlessly blending the idea of living and working for maritime companies in a single place. The industrial sector has already reached a 100% occupancy rate.

Waterfront and green spaces in the commercial and residential areas have already been developed. Additional showrooms, workshops, and offices have also been built, with high-quality buildings to house the city’s workforce. This is alongside improvements to internal roads, civil defence, sewerage and stormwater networks.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, DP World Group Chairman & CEO, said: “Building on Dubai’s rich maritime history, our wise leadership has always recognised the need for state-of-the-art facilities that cater to the manufacturing, maintenance, and shipbuilding services in the region. DMC provides advanced capabilities for the maritime industry, combined with a unique commercial and residential offering. This helps Dubai retain its position as the primary maritime hub in the region and the location of choice for all industrial and commercial maritime businesses.”

“Ship lifts and dry berth facilities are among the most important services we offer. This is one of the principal reasons why international shipbuilding and repair companies are attracted to operate in DMC, which has always aimed at catching up with the expectations of partners and exceeding them. We are committed to supporting our partners’ businesses directly and contributing to the growth of the maritime sector in the region as a whole,” Bin Sulayem added.

Rolf-Atle Tomassen, General Manager,Syncrolift AS, expressed his admiration for DMC’s state-of-the-art facilities. He said: “No facility comes close to the capacity at DMC. DMC’s pioneering facilities and business model will be studied and followed by others in the years to come. With this volume, safety and productivity becomes key. Having Lloyd’s Register, the renowned classification society, to supervise the entire project from the design phase to inspection, and till final delivery is a testament to DMC’s dedication to align with the highest international standards. We believe this will lead to significant returns for the whole value chain of DMC services.”

About Syncrolift AS

Syncrolift is the market leader within both Shiplifts and transfer systems worldwide. Born out of Norwegian shipbuilding some 60 years ago, Syncrolift not only pioneered modern shiplift and transfer systems, but also ship production lines. Syncrolift is part of Nekkar ASA – a Technology driven Norwegian company which develops future solutions within Offshore Wind and Fishfarms. Nekkar is listed on Oslo stock exchange.