Abu Dhabi Ports, an ADQ company, has been assigned as the primary custodian of all of Abu Dhabi’s waterways and marine ecosystems, through the creation of Abu Dhabi Maritime.

The move is designed to fortify Abu Dhabi’s position as a world-leading centre for maritime activities, said a statement.

Abu Dhabi Maritime has been formed by the Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT) based on an agreement between Abu Dhabi Ports and DMT, in which both entities agreed to cooperate in launching a wide variety of integrated services and facilities.

The joint effort is in line with Abu Dhabi Government’s strategy to integrate and streamline governance and oversight of priority growth sectors, and delivers on the leadership’s vision as reflected in the Abu Dhabi Plan Maritime, the statement said.

Abu Dhabi’s waterways covers 45,000 sq km along a 2,400 km stretch of coastline, which hosts 17 commercial and community ports, over 100 maritime facilities, over 1,000 companies, and provides for over 40,000 vessel movements per year.

Leveraging on Abu Dhabi Ports’ maritime expertise, the new entity will function as a consolidated single point of regulatory entry with a mandate to implement effective maritime services and state-of-the-art infrastructure, supported by highly-qualified human resources.