DMCA to participate at 12th Annual Marine Money Gulf Ship Finance Forum in Dubai

January 13, 2016. Dubai, United Arab Emirates: The Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA) is gearing up to participate as the Corporate Sponsor in the 12th Marine Money Gulf Ship Finance Forum to showcase the latest achievements of the Dubai Maritime Sector Strategy (MSS). The Strategy has been highly successful in establishing robust foundations for enhancing the local maritime industry’s competitiveness and position Dubai amongst the most competitive maritime capitals in the world by 2020. Organized by Marine Money and taking place on March 3, 2016 at the Emirates Towers Hotel in Dubai, the Forum is attracting wide interest from industry professionals as it offers an interactive platform for promoting channels of communication between ship-owners, regional and international experts, and decision makers and leaders of the ship finance industry. It is poised to contribute to ongoing efforts to find effective solutions to improve ship finance operations which are considered major strengths of the maritime sector in Dubai and the GCC region.

Throughout the event, DMCA will discuss the outcomes of the Maritime Sector Strategy, a first-of-its-kind plan in the history of Dubai aimed at making a positive change in the local maritime sector and improving the industry’s contributions to the emirate’s ambitious development efforts. The Authority will be joined by an elite group of regional and international shipping experts who will debate about the latest strategic subjects in the ship industry. The event agenda will also include discussion panels titled ‘Is Shipping Being Marginalized by Macro-Economic Issues?’ ‘The New Reality of the Shipping Markets and How to Predict, Position and Survive’ and ‘International Finance to Shipping in the Gulf Region,’ among others.

Amer Ali, DMCA Executive Director, explained that participating as an official sponsor in the Annual Marine Money Gulf Ship Finance Forum is part of DMCA’s commitment to supporting leading regional and international events which are aimed at making a positive impact on the current and future status of the maritime sector. He pointed out that the event offers an ideal platform to shed light on Maritime Sector Strategy developments which have had an impact on improving the performance, safety, efficiency and competitiveness of the local maritime sector, in line with the vision and directives of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Ali said: “The importance of the 12th Annual Gulf Ship Finance Forum lies in the fact that it primarily focuses on showcasing current and future opportunities and examining the factors affecting the growth of the marine shipping industry - one of the leading components of the international maritime cluster - especially economic growth, demand levels within regional and international markets, interest rates, oil prices, financing ability, and many more. For our part, we look forward to introducing the maritime community to the major features of the Dubai Maritime Sector Strategy. This strategy is a cornerstone for increasing confidence among regional and international investors on the highly competitive local maritime industry. It leverages the industry’s vital aspects such as ports, ship operation and maintenance, finance, brokerage and maritime services in order to fulfil Dubai’s ambitions of ranking among the top international maritime clusters.”

“The Maritime Sector Strategy has successfully conducted leading initiatives, in record time, which have helped implement new terms and conditions for the full supervision of all maritime operations as well as monitor and organize docking operations in line with local and international regulations. This has immensely supported efforts to meet the objectives of Dubai Maritime Vision 2030 aimed at establishing a sustainable and integrated local maritime sector by 2030. DMCA remains steadfast in its commitment to the Strategy’s goal of significantly developing integrated logistics programmes, upgrading industry infrastructure and establishing new regulations and legislations to ensure optimal administration of maritime operations at par with the highest standards of professional safety, environmental best practices, and local and international maritime arbitration,” Ali concluded.

The Dubai Maritime Sector Strategy is of great significance as it follows a well-defined vision to promote Dubai’s leadership as one of the most advanced maritime centres in the world, based on a set of pillars and core values related to leadership, customer service excellence, innovation, cooperation and excellence in human capital, and conservation of the marine environment. The Strategy’s pillars focus on developing the components of the local maritime cluster and creating a maritime environment that can attract foreign investments, thus promoting the industry’s role as a key contributor to the national economy.