Coffee with: Ahmed Mouselhy, Business Development Manager of Finmar Group: Mouselhy (LinkedIn) has served as Finmar Group’s Business Development Manager since 2018. Mouselhy is responsible for driving growth across the Egyptian shipping conglomerate’s subsidiaries. He is also a founding member of YoungShip Egypt, an international non-profit organization for youth working within the global maritime industry.

Finmar is currently broadening its services beyond maritime transport and transforming into an end-to-end integrated logistics group by investing into mainly inland assets handled through its subsidiaries. The group has sourced a new fleet of trucks, invested into a logistics warehousing facility in Alexandria, and ventured into a logistics facility in Sokhna.

We spoke to Mouselhy about the group’s recent joint ventures and expansion plans, how the company navigated recent Red Sea disruptions, and what’s cooking in the company’s pipeline.

Enterprise: Tell us a bit about where Finmar currently stands in the regional logistics landscape.

Ahmed Mouselhy: After five decades of operations, the company currently holds a diverse portfolio of companies that span across the transportation sector, including shipping representatives, port call agencies, husbandry, inland haulage solutions, depot services, and more. We handled 400k TEU in 2023 across all our companies.

Finmar Group has partnered with leading international shipping lines, including Taiwanese marine transport company Yang Ming in 2010, Turkish shipping outfit Arkas in 2007, and the world’s largest independent common carrier XPress Feeders in 2015. The company has recently ventured into other partnerships with Arkas Logistics and Ningbo Port Southeast Logistics Group — marking momentous milestones for the outfit as it moves towards becoming a leading end-to-end shipping and logistics firm.

E: How has Finmar’s partnership with Arkas been developing?

AM: Finmar Group partnered with Arkas in 2007 to establish Arkas Egypt, an outfit that handles agency services for several lines, including Arkas, DAL, and UAFL. The company is also the husbandry services contractor shipping-giant Maersk. Arkas Logistics — the largest Turkish logistics provider operating under Arkas Holdings — is planning on launching Arkas Logistics Egypt to operate in the Egyptian market. The company is integrating with a forceful entry — starting out with 50 trucks and investing in a facility to be able to serve the Turkish, European, US, and Indian markets.

E: What other partnerships does Finmar have in the pipeline?

AM: The group also recently inked an agreement with Ningbo Port Southeast Logistics Group (NPSEL) — one of the five largest logistics companies in China and the largest in the Ningbo region — to become its logistics partner and agent in Egypt. The partnership aims to support the development of Chinese ventures in Egypt — expanding the operations in Sokhna across Egypt. Finmar recently hosted an event with Ningbo Port to underscore the importance of the Sino-Egyptian trade and logistics connectivity and NPSEL’s logistical services to Egypt.

Finmar’s latest move in expanding beyond the seas will enable the company to navigate critical chokepoints and expand its joint ventures and partnerships with regional and international firms.

E: The region has been struggling with a string of disruptions over the past few years, how has this affected Finmar’s operations?

AM: We have a very strong position in the Egypt-Russia food market, where we are the biggest carrier by volume. The outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war surprisingly affected us in a positive way due to a lot of competition disappearing from the market over concerns on calling on Russia. For the first two seasons after the war, we had near-unfettered access to Russia.

The recent Red Sea disruptions have affected the company’s operations, particularly along the Bab Al Mandab route, where a substantial cargo bound for Sokhna port was stalled. We had to take initiative by orchestrating several vessel diversions from the Red Sea to Damietta to load the cargo onto smaller feeder vessels to then distribute them to their intended destinations in the Gulf and Far East.

The Yang Ming shipping line couldn’t pass or operate, while the XPress Feeder was able to navigate due to its smaller size. To maneuver through the disruptions, major shipping lines were forced to load and distribute their eastbound Gulf, ISC, and Far East Volume — specifically out of Sokhna — onto feeder operations like XPress to ensure continuity of operations. The congestion at Jebel Ali also necessitated the rerouting and omission of varying terminals.

E: Does the company have any future partnerships or expansion plans in our region planned?

AM: Although the MENA region offers a lot of potential for the company, Finmar is focusing on expansions across Egypt first and foremost. We’re not ready to formally announce the news yet, but we are planning to bring a UAE shipping conglomerate into our line of joint ventures and subsidiaries.

Tags: