The emerging challenges facing the maritime sector in Dubai and identifying appropriate and effective solutions were discussed and studied by the Maritime Advisory Council, one of the initiatives under the umbrella of the Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA), recently at its third periodic meeting.

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Mark Gistebrich, chairman and chief executive officer of Maersk in West and Central Asia.

The meeting forms part of the efforts to integrate and establish constructive cooperation between public and private industry leaders to push for Dubai’s transformation into a smart city with sustainable economic growth in line with the objectives of Dubai Plan 2021.

Khalid Meftah, director of business development at DMCA, said: “The council continues to work under new and innovative frameworks to promote the quality, efficiency and comprehensiveness of the maritime sector in line with Dubai’s pioneering role as one of the best maritime capitals in the world.”

“Rest assured that we will sustain our joint coordination with both the public and private sectors to develop a safe, modern, and sustainable maritime sector in accordance with the directive of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to build effective partnerships for the country’s socio-economic development,” he said.

Meftah continued: “The meeting enabled us to identify emerging challenges and introduce innovative solutions that will help raise the investors’ confidence in the local maritime industry’s competitive strengths.”

“It provided us an ideal platform to explore new proposals and lay the foundation for stronger regional maritime leisure tourism, including luxury yachts. We have already put in place effective measures to enhance maritime safety and operational efficiency and ensure safe navigation within Dubai’s maritime leisure tourism sector, an important component of the Dubai maritime community. We have the responsibility to continue the cooperation with our strategic partners to deliver important recommendations in support of Dubai Tourism Vision 2020 and Dubai Plan 2021,” he added.

The prevailing issues affecting the future of the local maritime sector were discussed during the meeting which was attended by Madhu Madathil, group legal manager of Rais Hassan Saadi Group; Nayana Nandkumar, manager of Dubai Shipping Agents Association; Krishnan Subramaniam, president of the Middle East branch of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers and Krishna Prasad from the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers.

The attendees particularly examined the strategically important Dubai Maritime Leisure Development Plan crafted as the result of the fruitful cooperation between the DMCA and its partners from the government and private sector to promote the emirate as an ideal destination for maritime leisure tourism, especially for luxury yachts.

The participants emphasised that concerted efforts are key to turning the goals of the Maritime Advisory Council into a reality by leveraging local maritime expertise to enhance Dubai’s global competitiveness.

On the sidelines of the meeting, the UAE Shipping Association (UAESA) made recommendations to develop the local maritime sector as it highlighted its objectives and activities, while the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS) reviewed its policy and objectives to promote maritime education services, training, and rehabilitation programmes designed to improve the capabilities and skills of maritime sector employees according to the latest technological innovations, it stated.