Dubai Maritime City Authority, the organisation tasked with developing, monitoring and promoting maritime activity in the Emirate, has announced a significant programme of investment in this year’s Nor-Shipping event, held in Oslo and Lillestrøm, Norway, the DMCA said in a press release.
Alongside exhibiting at Nor-Shipping, DMCA is sponsoring the ‘Offshore Day’ and hosting a banquet in the Norwegian capital for leading names within the global shipping industry.
The activity is designed to showcase Dubai’s strength as a key maritime hub and highlight its further growth ambitions. Key messages will focus on the benefits of Dubai’s fully developed cluster - with specialisms in ports management, ship maintenance and operation, and wider maritime services – and its growing importance to the national economy. Maritime now contributes some 4.6% of Dubai’s total GDP (equivalent to 14.4 billion AED), while more than 75,000 new job opportunities have been created in the sector over the past two years.
DMCA, which was founded in 2007 and is fully supported by the Dubai government, is a driving force behind the Emirate’s emergence as a world-class maritime and logistics cluster. It sees clear economic potential in taking Dubai to Nor-Shipping, a key bi-annual event in the international shipping calendar, as explained by H.E. Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem:
His Excellency Sten Anders Berge, The Norwegian Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, shares H.E. Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem’s opinion about the value of the relationship between the two nations, commenting: “Dubai and Norway are natural maritime partners. Dubai has established a vibrant maritime centre and a key regional hub, while Norway is a leading shipping nation with operations worldwide. By working together our maritime enterprises can support and strengthen one another, while delivering competitive benefits to the industry as a whole.”
Nor-Shipping takes place from 2 to 5 June, with the main exhibition housed in Norway’s largest meeting venue, the 39,000 sqm exhibition hall in Lillestrøm, and events taking place across Oslo itself. DCMA’s invitation-only banquet will be held beside the prestigious Astrup Fearnley Museum on the Nor-Shipping Island, Oslo, on Wednesday 3 June.
Dubai Maritime Vision 2030 main objectives are as follows:
- Establish Dubai as a leading Global Islamic Maritime Economy by encouraging Islamic financing and Halal maritime tourism, among other key drivers.
- Consolidate Dubai’s position as the foremost International Maritime Centre based on competitive potentials, such as modern infrastructure, strategic location, customs facilities, and high-level services.
- Elevate Dubai’s status as a prime international logistical gateway and a trans-shipment hub, backed by rapidly increasing passenger and freight transport volumes and a multifaceted trade corridor.
- Create a smart maritime sector with a focus on comprehensive customer-focused eServices and superior maritime security systems, in order to better serve local, regional and international clients and stakeholders.
- Promote Dubai as an epicentre for Maritime Education and Training, with graduates and technocrats who are able to guide the local maritime sector to a new level of excellence and leadership in line with the movement towards a knowledge-based economy.
- Position Dubai as an exemplary international ‘Green Maritime’ body that minimally impacts the environment with its shipping and maritime- related activities through adherence to the highest standards of sustainability.