Abu Dhabi, UAE: Abu Dhabi Ship Building PJSC (ADSB), a leading provider of construction, repair and refit services for naval, military and commercial vessels, this month marked another milestone in its project to build vessels for the Kuwait Navy, with the formal acceptance of the landing craft Sabhan into service as part of the agreement signed with Ministry of Defense of Kuwait.

The July 13 ceremony in which the Sabhan was formally accepted, held at Kuwait Navy Base, was attended by His Excellency Sheikh Mohammad Khaled Al Hamad Al Sabah, Kuwait’s Deputy Prime-Minister and Minister of Defense, Lieutenant General Mohammed Al-Khader, Chief of General Staff of Kuwait's Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Sheikh Abdullah Al Nawaf, Deputy Chief of General Staff of Kuwait's Armed Forces, along with a number of senior officers from the Kuwait Ministry of Defense and ADSB's chief operations officer, Eng. Yaser Al Falahi.

The Sabhan is the first of three landing craft of the same kind that ADSB is building for Kuwait as part of a larger program to build five small vessels and three large vessels. With the Sabhan's arrival, the larger program is now three-quarters complete. The first five vessels in the program have been delivered earlier than scheduled, with the two remaining vessels on track to be delivered in October.

Dr. Khaled Al Mazrouei, CEO, ADSB, said: “In the two years since we signed the contract with the Ministry of Defense of Kuwait we have delivered state-of-the-art ships with the latest technology, without ever missing a deadline. This demonstrates our adaptability to the growing complexities and efficiencies needed for competitive shipbuilding and asserts our position as the Middle East's leading shipbuilder. We are proud to do our part to keep the Arabian Gulf's shores safe.”

ADSB has also built landing craft for the navies of the UAE and some GCC countries.