From a reputed shipping company to a leading classification society, Chief Engineer Jamil Al Ali is closely working to leverage his background and experience to help service Bureau Veritas’ strong growth trajectory in the various marine and offshore related segments across the Middle East.

Middle East Regional Commercial & Business Development Director at Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore, Engineer Al Ali is set on a new journey that complements a lifetime of achievements, all of which is covered in this edition of Robban Assafina.

A new chapter has commenced in your career after a long career with KOTC. How do you see this transition to Bureau Veritas?
After my first 6 months with BV, I am very excited to be part of BV global network with a wealth of knowledge and experience in a vast array of fields. I am proud to be part of Bureau Veritas and looking forward to this new and exciting chapter in my career. 

From a credible shipping company to a leading classification society, what will Jamil Al Ali add to this new career at BV? 
I endeavor to leverage my background and experience working for a major ship owner to better understand our client’s needs, in order to best support them.

What are the goals that you look forward to achieve in BV? Any short term plans for 2023? 
We are working to enhance Bureau Veritas presence throughout the Middle East region, while building trust with our clients and key stake holders along the way.

What about the relationship between shipowners and classification societies amid lots of challenges? 
The relationship between shipowners and classification societies should ideally be based on trust built up over a long period, on a win win basis which is the only way to build and sustain long term mutually beneficial relationships. 

BV has a strong presence in UAE and KSA, what are BV’s prospects regarding a strongly developing Saudi shipping, shipbuilding and offshore sector?
Having a strong presence in both UAE & Saudi Arabia, puts us in an ideal position to better serve our clients and build trust by being our client’s trusted partners. Bureau Veritas M&O supports its clients by collaborating in many different areas other than the traditional classification role, such as Joint Development Projects (JDP’s), Joint Industry Projects (JIP’s) and Approvals in Principle (AIP’s) which facilitate innovation during these transient times that shipping is facing.

Is BV eyeing any expansion in other Middle Eastern countries? 
Yes, Bureau Veritas is working to strengthen its presence throughout the Middle East region, to best support our clients and expand the scope of services provided to our clients as required. Bureau Veritas is on a strong growth trajectory in the various marine and offshore related segments across the Middle East and we will continue to strive for continuous growth while building trust with our clients. 

What are the main challenges that Classification Societies are currently facing?
The shipping industry, along with the entire world, are  facing major challenges and the drive towards decarbonization by stakeholders both regulatory and market based measures are driving innovation and required technologies to be developed in order to meet these ever increasing challenges.

How is BV coping with the innovation in technology in the maritime & offshore industry? 
BV is positioning itself to be a credible partner collaborating closely with ship owners and technology providers and other key stakeholders to facilitate the development of the framework required for such innovative technologies to be adopted moving forward.

How is BV defining the cyber security measures onboard and ashore to make maritime industry cyber security resilient? 
As a global leader, Bureau Veritas provides needed independent cyber security services to assess OT and IT systems. BV has developed a comprehensive cyber security framework for in-service vessels that helps owners protect their ships and comply with cyber security regulations.

What are BV’s latest innovations in wind technology to make floating offshore wind farms a reality?
While wind turbine technologies have now matured, the floating foundations that provide the base for floating offshore wind (FOW) turbines are still in the early stages of development. To address the challenges and the complexity of the current developments, it is necessary to apply the lessons learned from the offshore wind and oil and gas sectors.

Facing the challenge of developing clean energy solutions. How do you see the future of fuels and what is the role of BV playing on that aspect? 
The expectation is that in the future, multiple viable fuel options will be available and the preferred option would be based on many factors such as type of vessel, safety implications of applying a particular fuel, trade pattern of vessels, cost and availability of fuels etc.

Since this decision is a very difficult one for ship owners to take alone, we at Bureau Veritas M&O are partnering with our clients to advise them about all considerations necessary to best select the fuel of the future for specific future new build vessels, in order to future proof vessels designs.

Robban Assafina Magazine, Issue 84, March/ April 2023, Maritime Host, pg. 91

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	Issue 84 of Robban Assafina (March/ April 2023)