James Fisher and Sons plc (JFS) has further expanded its capabilities in the Middle East with the acquisition of Murjan Al-Sharq Marine Contracting LLC (MSMC).

MSMC is an established service provider based in Saudi Arabia, with a 10-year track record of successful projects with Saudi Aramco. The acquisition brings a wealth of local expertise into the JFS group. In particular, the move adds strategically important nearshore marine construction and maintenance capabilities to the JFS offer, supported by new, high quality vessels and equipment from MSMC and the group’s existing shallow water fleet.

Chris Clark, vice president at MSMC, said:
“I am looking forward to a promising future with JFS. It provides strength and stability to maintain our current growth and allow us to capture a larger market share.

“The company is well positioned now, having recently deployed new marine assets from Damen shipyards for existing and upcoming projects. We will be performing marine services with the new fleet under Saudi flag to support Saudi Aramco and Vision 2030.

“James Fisher has a very good track record in the Middle East and the merger means that together, we can build on the last 10 years of development from MCSC to deliver well planned, multi-disciplined marine solutions to our clients”

Paul Whiley, regional director for James Fisher in the Middle East, explained:
“This acquisition by JFS solidifies our expansion into the promising Saudi offshore sector. We have now combined our existing offshore capabilities with the nearshore strengths of MCSC to offer a truly unique range of services that will be capable of delivering complete project scopes to the main EPCs. The end result is cost and time efficiencies for our clients, who are now getting a single interface for complete project support.”

The merger follows the recent announcement of multi-million dollar contract awards to support a major contractor in the region and wider investment from JFS to develop a significant and permanent presence on the Arabian Peninsula.

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