The National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (NSCSA), established in 1979, is one of the biggest shipping companies in the world and occupies a pre-eminent position among its industry peers at national, regional and international levels in all sectors of its business.

It is the first national carrier, celebrated its Silver Jubilee in the year 2004 and successfully striding its triumphant march in its 27 years of existence, has generated a strong VIP customer base at local, regional and international levels.
This, along with the vast experience gained over the years, has enabled to provide first class shipping service to the trading community and this contribution has become one of the strong bases for the national economy.
During the course of its diversification, the Company’s services have expanded to include transportation of general cargo, crude oil, chemical and LPG as well as specialised ship management.
Having started its operations for transporting general cargo and containers, the Company with its commendable track record, has established the reputation of providing high standard of service to its customers at all international ports it is serving.
The company owns Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) (double hull) built with most sophisticated specifications recognized and accepted by the industry.
In its desire to expand further its activities, NSCSA entered into LPG transportation business by acquiring 30.3 per cent share from Petredec Limited, which is the leading company in LPG transportation in the world.
The Company also owns a very large fleet of Chemical Carriers and has become one of the largest companies in the world in this field.
This could be attributed to the world-class services provided by the National Chemical Carriers (NCC) which was established in partnership with Sabic.
NSCSA strongly believes that expansion and improvement of its services in the shipping field would not only improve the welfare of the trading community but also would richly contribute to the development of national economy which is its primary goal.
Crude oil transportation
The Company owns large fleet of double hulled VLCCs. These vessels are of high international standards with capacity of 2.1 million barrels each and more than 300,000 DWT.
In 2004, the Company signed a contract for building two VLCCs for delivery in 2007.  
Another contract to build six new VLCCs was also concluded for delivery through 2008-2009.
With these plans, the aggregate capacity of all crude oil fleet will increase to 5.250 million DWT and the Company will have 17 VLCCs, of which eight will be taken delivery of through 2007-2009.

Chemical transportation
The Company started its chemical transportation business in the year 1985 by building Uqba Ibn Nafe (UIN) with a capacity of 43,000 DWT.
Followed by that, the Company established Arabian Chemical Carriers (ACC) in a joint venture with United Arab Shipping Company (UASC). ACC owns the Tanker “Al-Farabi” which has a capacity of 41,400 DWT.
The Company also established National Chemical Carriers (NCC) in the year 1990 in an 80:20 partnership with Sabic. NCC is the main player in the Company’s Chemical Transportation business. 
It owns 12 chemical tankers and are expecting 12 more to join its fleet, which are currently under construction.
In line with the Company’s strategic development plans, to further expand its operations, contracts have been signed to build 12 chemical tankers.
NCC has already signed  leasing agreements for  long term charters of six newbuild tankers with International Shipping Transportation Company (ISTC), a subsidiary of Sabic.  This contract will provide the opportunity to transport a major share of Sabic’s products to reputable clients all over the world.
Six tankers had been taken delivery of in the year 2005-2006 and the remaining will join the company’s fleet between the years 2006-2008. 
The Company also signed a contract to build six new chemical carriers, the delivery of which will start from the year 2009.

General cargo transportation
 LINER SERVICE - NSCSA presently offers Liner Service by operating 4 fully owned RoRo/Conventional/Container vessels in the Arabian Gulf - Indian Sub-Continent/ Red Sea/Mediterranean/US-Canada (East Coast) /US (Gulf) trade route on a regular schedule.
The versatility of the vessels make them highly suited for serving the trade, catering to RoRo, Break-Bulk, projects, Military and containerised cargoes.
NSCSA foresees a continued demand for specialised Ro-Ro-cum-Container vessels in the trade in terms of industrialisation in the Middle East and continued infrastructure development.
Various options are being reviewed to upgrade the service. NSCSA have collaborated with Rohde & Liesenfeld (R&L) of Germany, which has more than 70 offices in some 35 countries worldwide, to manage large scale project arrangements into Saudi Arabia.
FREIGHT FORWARDING & NVOCC - NSCSA established a Global Freight Forwarding & NVOCC Division in 2002 to provide customers with one stop total service package. Through its Global Network, this Division offers Shipping, Road Transportation, Documentation and Warehousing/Distribution services, System based online Track/Trace, Vendor Management, Purchase Order Management and Supply Chain Management services are also offered to key customers.
NSCSA’s Freight Forwarding/NVOCC service also offers Turn Key Project Management Services for the Oil, Cement, Power, Steel, and Water Conversion industries.
CONTAINER SERVICE YARD - NSCSA, in 1997, invested in on-land facilities, building a container storage and repair yard (having an area of 120,000 sq m) at the Jeddah Islamic Port, the most significant in the Kingdom, to promote better customer services and to minimize loading, handling and operational costs related to import/export units. 
A specialised workshop in the yard takes up repair jobs and refurbishes containers according to international standards.
Mideast Ship Management Limited (Mideast) - a subsidiary of NSCSA, was established in 1997. 
The vision was to establish a professionally qualified ship manager who would fulfill the requirements of the quality consciousness of ship owners with the focus on:
• Downtime not exceeding one per cent to ensure ship running/earning.
• High safety standards to avoid accidents, damage to cargo and property, financial liabilities and contamination of the environment.
• Cost consciousness to maintain owner’s profitability.
• Transparent transactions to ensure owner’s trust.
Mideast Ship Management Ltd now manages a variety of vessels which include Very Large Crude Oil Tankers, Chemical tankers and RoRo vessels.
Mideast has implemented a strategy to achieve the following:
• Advanced management systems to extensively plan, monitor and control ships performances
• Focus on leadership involvement.
• Capable and highly disciplined organisation.
• Well rated and well experienced crew
Mideast has established a “on-stop-shop” service to its clients, which include:
• Technical Management
• Commercial Management, Chartering & Post Fixtures
• Sale and Purchase
• Technical and Marine Consultancy
• Insurance and Claim Handling
Mideast Quality Management System (QMS) is accredited to the standard of ISO 9000:2000, ISO 14001:2004  IMO ISM Code and SEP by DNV.

Petredec LPG
The National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (NSCSA) joined hands with Petredec Limited in February 2005, a Bermuda based LPG trader and shipowner by obtaining 30 per cent share.
Petredec is a leading liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) trader and shipowner, with a controlled fleet of over 40 vessels delivered and on order aggregating approximately 795,000 m3, including two VLGCs each having 82,000 m3 capacity, very recently ordered at Hyundai Heavy Industries for delivery in 2008.  Petredec trades globally through its headquarters in Monaco and offices in Singapore, London and Barbados.
Keeping in view of the gas trades out of the Gulf will grow significantly in the coming years, NSCSA’s investment in Petredec to be the best route by which it can become a market leader in the shipping and trading of LPG in this region.
This transaction represents a number of firsts for NSCSA, including its first share acquisition of an existing shipping company, its first venture into the gas trades, and its first major investment outside the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) region. 
This fulfils and fits perfectly with NSCSA’s long term strategy of strengthening international alliances and diversifying its portfolio thus fulfilling the Company’s growth ambitions. NSCSA is extremely pleased to be investing in and working with a company of Petredec’s calibre.