Sufyan Al Zamil : President, Zamil Offshore (2025)

Sufyan Al Zamil was recognized by wealth management publication Campden FB in its 2011 “Forty Under 40” feature as a rising young star in family business. By then he had transformed the offshore marine services operation of the Zamil Group, a Saudi Arabian industrial conglomerate, by modernizing its offshore fleet and expanding its shipbuilding operations. Today, at age 39, he has built Zamil Offshore into the fifth largest offshore fleet in the world and made it number one in the Middle East.

Tell our readers about yourself.

I am an engineer and graduated from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals with a degree in Systems Engineering and a minor in Industrial Engineering. In 2002 I received my MBA in Executive Management. I began working for the company after I graduated from the family training program. I started as a production engineer at Zamil Steel. After two years I enrolled in various executive management programs within the Zamil Group’s “Family Business Development Program” and was rotated among different positions.

In 2006 I was appointed General Manager of Zamil Operations & Maintenance Company. But the name did not reflect the true nature of its business, so I demerged the company into two companies: one for Operations & Maintenance and the other for the offshore & marine business, which I named Zamil Offshore ServicesCompany. I became President of Zamil Offshore in February 2008. Today this company has three divisions: marine services, shipbuilding and ship repair, and engineering and construction services.

You have a family business training program?

We do. But just being a family member does not guarantee you a job or a management position. Like everyone, I started as a trainee and worked in a factory, wore a helmet and learned a trade. To become part of the Zamil management team I had to work alongside employees in a factory to better understand the daily efforts put forth by them. Some in the family will become General Managers, Senior Managers or even Presidents, but the rule is that we all must go through this special management training program. If a family member doesn’t like the management training structure, then he can find a job outside the firm.

You became President at a very young age – 33, I believe. What achievements were involved?

After intense training at Zamil Steel I worked at various jobs in the company. Then I was sent off to handle a special project outside the company for a couple of years, which I started from scratch. I was highly involved in personnel, construction and business requirements as well as actually launching the organization.

I was then transferred to Zamil Operations & Maintenance as General Manager, where my primary task was to demerge the company, which I did successfully. Then I took the lead of managing the company. I focused on benchmarking competitors in the region. After a great deal of analysis and strategic planning, I made significant changes, including recruiting a new management team and acquiring and implementing state-of-the-art enterprise management systems. In 2008 I became President of Zamil Offshore. At the time the company was twelfth in the world in terms of fleet size. Today we are number five, and number one in the Middle East.

You work closely with Saudi Aramco, correct?

That is correct. Most of our business is with Saudi Aramco.

Can you tell us the history of the company?

Zamil Marine Services was established in 1977 by the eleven brothers with my father, Zamil Al Zamil, who earned his Bachelor’s and then his Master’s degrees in Petroleum Engineering in the U.S. When he returned to Saudi Arabia he joined the Ministry of Petroleum and then began working at Saudi Aramco. After some time there learning about the marine industry, he started the family business in 1977 and bought the company’s first offshore support vessel, Zamil Supplier, which was immediately chartered to Saudi Aramco. The company grew steadily after that and underwent several name changes before becoming Zamil Offshore.

Is Zamil Offshore part of the Zamil Group?

Yes, Zamil Offshore is under the umbrella of the Zamil Group, which is one of the largest global investment enterprises with diverse interests and capabilities in more than 52 business sectors, ranging from industrial, commercial, trade and services to consumer solutions with a vast network of manufacturing facilities, joint ventures, affiliations, alliances and strategic acquisitions combined with an almost 18,000-strong workforce in more than60 countries.

Who founded the Zamil Group?

My late grandfather, Sheikh Abdullah Al Hamad Al Zamil, founded the company in the 1920s in Bahrain as a real estate and trading firm. He moved it to Saudi Arabia in the 1930s. My father and his eleven brothers started the modern group of companies in the mid-1970s.

Zamil Group now has three affiliates listed on the Saudi Arabian Stock Exchange: Zamil Industrial Investment Company, Sahara Petrochemicals Co. and Sipchem. Zamil Group’s range of products and services is expansive and spans air conditioners,plastics, steel fabrication, cranes, glass, plastics, food, building materials, paints and chemicals.

Is the offshore Company the largest in the Zamil Group?

No, but it is the largest service company within the Zamil Group with 3,400 employees.

The demerger of the marine services business was structured so the company could be more focused on its core businesses. How has that gone?

Zamil O & M had two departments and with the demerger in 2008 we transformed them into two operating companies, Zamil O & M and Zamil Offshore. Today within Zamil Offshore we have three divisions: marine services, shipbuilding and ship repair, and engineering and construction services. What is really exciting is that these divisions are ready now to be spun off as separate operating companies for possible joint venture or alliances.

What was the strategy behind opening an office in Singapore?

After careful market analysis we opened a small office in Singapore to market our vessels to countries in Southeast Asia and to facilitate the acquisition of newbuildings and vessel equipment, when needed.

The company owns three shipyards in Saudi Arabia – two in Dammam and one in Jeddah. Does Zamil build most of its own vessels now?

We have built about 24 offshore vessels at our own yards, but beating the cost advantage of China is very hard. In China you can build five or six vessels in a series more cheaply than anywhere else in the world. So our strategy is to build the sophisticated vessels locally and the standardized ones in China. We have recently built three vessels for the Saudi Navy and about a dozen for various Saudi ports, and we just won a contract to build six coast guard vessels for a Gulf State country.

Does Zamil have any offshore vessel or Saudi-based shipyard competitors?

Of course. We have other offshore companies in our marketplace, and the competition is getting more fierce. But we constitute about 40 percent of Saudi Aramco’s workboat fleet. In terms of shipbuilding we are the premier and only shipbuilder in Saudi Arabia since starting this industry in 2002.

What has been the biggest challenge to date for you and the company?

When I took over the company, one of my objectives was to grow it into one of the largest in the world. The offshore marine operations division has moved from twelfth to fifth in the world and number one in the Middle East. In 2006 we had 34 vessels. Now we have 77 with seven more under construction. The average age of the fleet is down to six years. Our vessels achieved 97.5 percent utilization during the third quarter of last year.

I have succeeded in making our shipyard in Dammam a top class, full-fledged shipbuilder and ship and rig repairer. Our Dammam shipyard is the premier and only shipbuilder in the Kingdom. In 2013 we succeeded in winning the lease of Jeddah King Fahd Ship repair yard as a second shipyard. Our third advanced new Dammam shipyard, which is equipped with a 7,000-ton capacity Rolls Royce Synchrolift, was inaugurated last month. We are working to localize shipbuilding and ship repair in Saudi Arabia by creating a cluster of manufacturers and suppliers for the marine industries.

In 2011 we won an Aramco contract for its hook-up business, which involves all phases of support for offshore platforms – boats, equipment, personnel, etc. With this new contract we have increased our share in Aramco hook-up from 30 percent to about 70 percent. The division’s business has grown with the addition of our new self-propelled jack-up barge, and it is becoming a fully integrated engineering and construction services provider to the oil and gas industry.

Last year we started a dive business and entered into a joint venture with Mermaid Maritime, which is a leading subsea and diving company. We have secured a seven-year dive services contract with Saudi Aramco that is worth over $600 million.

Tell us about your port operations.

We began seaport operations in 1999 for the Port of Dammam to manage and maintain its marine facilities, including navigation and pilotage. The Port of Dammam is the second largest port in the Kingdom behind Jeddah. It has about 2,400 merchant vessels calling each year. We currently operate 15 tugboats and port service units. In 2002 we ventured into shipbuilding using the port’s marine yard, which was part of our contract for operating the Dammam port marine facilities.

Does Zamil handle the terminal operations as well, including the cargo facilities?

No, just the pilotage services.

The Zamil Group is a huge and diversified conglomerate with many opportunities. Do you think you will stay in the marine sector?

That is really a tough question. While I enjoy the marine industry and oil and gas sectors, I am ready at all times to serve the Zamil Group of companies. It has been a special challenge to demerge and diversify the offshore services companies, and I have been able to turn small divisions into major companies. I am proud of these accomplishments. So basically I will do what I am asked to do. Marine services is not just a job to me. It is a career path that I have chosen.

What do you do in your spare time?

I enjoy playing soccer. Also to make time to travel with my wife and children so I can show them different places and cultures around the world.

What is your vision for the company?

To be the most recognized and significant integrated offshore services provider in the Middle East and selected regions globally. The company has established a successful brand and has diversified and matured in many segments of the offshore oil and gas industry. Zamil Group and Zamil Offshore are industry leaders, and it is my goal to be an essential part of their ongoing growth.