Emirates Ship Investment Company (Eships) has won a contract to transport approximately one million tonnes of alumina annually to Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Aluminium (Emal).

Emal is building a $5.7 billion aluminium smelter, the largest diversification project in the UAE.

The three-year contract was awarded after a competitive tender involving over 15 shipping companies and will start next year.

Emal’s smelter at Al Taweelah is scheduled to produce its first high-grade semi-finished aluminium products in April 2010 and will be in full operation from January 2011.

Eships will transport the alumina in lots of 60,000 tonnes in modern “Panamax” ships – the largest ships able to pass through the Panama Canal. The ships will initially unload at Jebel Ali port, Dubai, but will switch to Khalifa Port in Taweelah when ready, said a statement.

“This contract is an important step in the growth strategy for Eships,” said Scott Jones, chief executive officer of Eships, which is jointly owned by Abu Dhabi government investment firm, Invest AD, and Mubadala, the development and investment company driving the economic diversification of Abu Dhabi.

“It gives us another opportunity to use our dry bulk shipping expertise to provide a major UAE company with first-class service, while providing us with a springboard to grow our fleet. We are pleased to be contributing to a significant UAE diversification project,” he said. – TradeArabia News Service