Gulf Craft

Gulf Craft

Type	Privately held
Industry	Luxury yacht
Founded	1982
Headquarters	Ajman, United Arab Emirates
Key people	Mohammed Hussein Al Shaali (Chairman), Erwin Bamps (Chief Executive Officer)
Products	Majesty Yachts, Oryx, Silvercraft, Nomad Yachts and Utility Series
Services	Fiberglass, Semi-customized
Website	www.gulfcraftinc.com

Gulf Craft is a manufacturer of luxury yachts and fiberglass boats based in Ajman in the United Arab Emirates. Gulf Craft operates from three shipyards in the UAE and one in the Maldives.

History

Gulf Craft was founded in 1982 in the United Arab Emirates by the Alshaali brothers- Mohammed, Abdullah and Jamal and their friend Dr. Mohammed Hamdan. Mohammed Hussain Alshaali currently serves as the Chairman of the company. It started as a manufacturer in the small open boat category.

In 1992, Gulf Craft expanded its product range into larger fly-bridge designs using inboard diesel installations.

With a growing range of boats and yachts approaching 100’ in length the new millennium saw Gulf Craft sell to Europe and many of it Majesty Yachts fleet are present in the marinas of France, Spain and Italy. The expansion into larger yachts and new markets after 2000 saw production facilities expand and a new shipyard was developed at Umm Al Quwain with the capacity to manufacture superyachts up to 155 feet (47 m) in length.

In November 2009, Nasser Al Shaali was appointed CEO of Gulf Craft.^[1]

In 2010, Gulf Craft launched the Majesty 125 Superyacht.^[2]

In June 2014, Erwin Bamps, Chief Operating Officer of the company since 2009, was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Gulf Craft.^[3] In March 2017, he announced that Gulf Craft was planning an IPO on the Dubai financial market by the end of the year.^[4] The company also announced its intention to build more superyachts (or megayachts), following the growing trend of superyacht hubs in the Mediterranean sea.^[5]

Manufacturing facilities

Gulf Craft operates four manufacturing facilities – two facilities in Ajman, UAE, which also includes a service centre, a 100,000 square foot facility in the Maldives and a 462,000 square foot facility in Umm Al Quwain, UAE, equipped with a 150-ton and a 500-ton travel lift and two launching bays. The company currently employs close to 1,600 people across its three facilities. The company uses advanced manufacturing technologies such as sandwich construction, vacuum infusion processes, and water-jet drives engineered on large yachts.

In 2015, Gulf Craft produced 400 boats, 40-50 of them being yachts.^[6]

Brands

• Majesty Yachts: Brand of Luxury fly-bridge yachts launched in 2004, with extensive range of yachts from 48 feet (15 m) to 155 feet (47 m) under one roof. In 2016, Gulf Craft announced its megayachts projects- Majesty 200 and Majesty 175 at the Monaco Yacht Show. Gulf Craft launched at the 2017 Dubai International Boat Show, its first sky-lounge superyacht, the Majesty 100.
• Oryx Sport Yachts & Cruisers: In 2006, Gulf Craft introduced the Oryx line of sport yachts and cruisers. Starting from the Oryx 27 sport cruiser, the range extends to larger size sport cruisers such as the Oryx 36 and Oryx 42 as well as the Oryx 43 Fly.
• Silvercraft: Series officially launched in 2008 to represent the wide and diverse range of smaller fishing boats and family cruisers manufactured by Gulf Craft. Silvercraft offers a family of center console fishing boats and multifunctional walkaround cruisers for sport fishing enthusiasts. Gulf Craft launched 2 new models under the Silvercraft series at the 2017 Dubai International Boat Show- the Silvercraft 48 HT & Silvercraft 31 HT Cabin.
• Nomad Yachts: Brand of explorer-type yachts under Gulf Craft that offer long-range, fuel efficiency. The range consists of Nomad 55, Nomad 65, Nomad 75 and Nomad 95.
• Utility Series: Passenger and multipurpose transportation vessels which include the Touring 31, Touring 36, Touring 38, Touring 40, Touring 43, Touring 45 and Waveshuttle 56.

After-sales services

Gulf Craft provides after-sales services including exterior, interior, mechanical, electrical, air conditioning and fabrication works. They have a 75 tonne travel lift at the Ajman Service Centre and are able to lift up to 500 tonnes at the Umm Al Quwain shipyard.

References