Dulsco Qatar Wll

On a peaceful morning in 1935, in the fishing and trading village of Dubai, the calm was suddenly disturbed by the excitement of the news that a big ship of the British India Steam Navigation Company was at anchor some distance away in the Arabian Gulf. One of the Gray Mackenzie Company employees came to the creek wharf and appointed some able-bodied men to row their dhows to the waiting ship, to unload and then bring ashore its cargo of foodstuff and clothing. In this way the practice of stevedoring began in Dubai and the man who started it was Mohammed Khan Abdulla Mirza Abdulla, the father of the present Chairman of Dulsco, Abdul Aziz Mohammed Khan Abdulla. This was the beginning of the inspiring story of Dulsco.

In 1954 Mohd Khan passed away and in 1955 his son-in-law Mohammed Sharif Abdul Rahman Al Baidhaee managed to get a concession from the late Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum, the then-ruler of Dubai, in order to continue running the business.

In 1970, Port Rashid came into operation. And in February, 1971 the company, which was under the name of Mohammed Sharif, shifted its stevedoring operations from anchorage to the port. Meanwhile, Shaikha Sana Mana Al Maktoum, who had the concession to provide the wooden launches to transport stevedores to the ships at anchorage, found that the establishment of the port had put a stop to all the movement from shore to ship. Following a suggestion from the Dubai Government, Mohammed Sharif and Sheikha Sana joined to form a new company called Dubai Labour Supply Company, or Dulsco. The name eventually turned out to be a blessing in disguise and Dulsco added manpower supply to its service portfolio.

When Dulsco began its operations in the port, there was a need to bring in international stevedoring expertise. A team of experts from England were appointed for its operations who continued to serve the company for the next twenty-five years.

By the 1980s the total number of Dulsco employees totaled around 1200, which included stevedores, general workers, and winch and crane operators among others. Over the past seventy years, Dulsco has grown along with Dubai and currently employs over 5000 people. Stevedoring is still one of the major services Dulsco provides but have added other services to its diverse portfolio, serving the entire UAE. In June, 2005 Dulsco became a limited liability company (Dulsco llc) and is now set to expand its influence to the GCC as well as other countries.