Middle East owners gather in Dubai to deal with ‘intolerable’ levels of piracy

Dubai: With piracy off the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden reaching “intolerable” levels, senior executives of the Middle East maritime sector are to debate the challenges for ship operators at a special industry seminar this month.

“There have been nearly 100 hijackings, attempted or successful, and around 300 seamen are being held by pirates, making the waters off Somalia the most dangerous in the world,” said Christopher Hayman, Chairman of Seatrade, organisers of Seatrade Middle East Maritime 2008 – the region’s leading maritime event (14-16 December 2008). “The level of hijackings has clearly reached an intolerable level and we have introduced the special seminar on the second day of this year’s event to examine the enormous challenge which piracy now represents for ship operators in the region. In particular, we will be addressing the risk of injury to crew, the damage or loss of vessels or cargo as well as loss of earnings,” Hayman added. Seatrade Middle East Maritime at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre is under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai. Among the estimated 300 seamen currently being held by Somali pirates are the 25 crew of the Saudi Arabian-owned supertanker Sirius Star, the largest ship taken by pirates. The Seatrade Middle East Maritime exhibition and conference, held every two years in Dubai, has evolved into one of the world’s fastest-growing maritime events and now ranks among the industry’s top 10 largest.

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DP World sees crisis as chance to expand into US

The world economic crisis is likely to force US ports to open up investment to foreign groups and DP World might consider this a timely opportunity, said a senior DP World official.

Dave Sanborn, Senior Vice-President and Managing Director for the Americas at DP World, said independent operators, such as the former Maher Terminals, operator of port terminal facilities at Port Elizabeth, New Jersey, and Port of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, which was bought last year by RREEF Infrastructure, part of Deutsche Bank’s Deutsche Asset Management, could be up for sale soon. Sanborn added that the investment fund that bought the terminals was reeling from the credit crisis. “There are rumors that repeat sales may be on the cards. Some of these highly leveraged deals are reportedly in trouble, and others appear to have pulled back sharply from major investments,” he said. Sanborn cited Hutchison Port Holdings and PSA International of Singapore as two of the interested parties, but did not rule out his own firm. Sanborn also highlighted the fallout from restricted finance.

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Drydocks wins Middle East Shipyard of the Year Award

Dubai: Drydocks World has won a prestigious shipbuilding award recognizing its quality in ship repair, conversion and building.

Drydocks World was recently presented the “Lloyd’s List Middle East Shipyard of the Year” for 2008. This is the fourth consecutive win for the company. “Recognition by the industry is an incentive to further improve our performance in the years to come, in line with our slogan: “One Team, One Vision” Nawal Saigal Managing Director of Drydocks World Dubai was quoted as saying.

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