Piracy will be a key theme of an upcoming maritime event in Bahrain, which will feature family fun, a photography contest and seminars.

The second edition of Bahrain Maritime Festival will be held from September 25 to 29 to coincide with the World Maritime Day.

It is being organised by the General Organisation of Sea Ports (GOP).

"The festival features an exciting and unique line-up of activities and events in which Bahrain will join the rest of the world in celebrating the important occasion," said GOP chairman Shaikh Daij bin Salman Al Khalifa.

"This year, the importance of the festival is even more pertinent as we strive to convey to the world Bahrain's positive messages."

This year's event will focus on the world's response to piracy and aims to generate awareness amongst students, industry professionals and the public about the menace of crime.

"Activities at the event will have a strong educational component and we hope it will have an even greater response than the event last year," said Shaikh Daij.

He said the event would also seek to demonstrate it was business as usual in Bahrain and that the country continues to excel in the maritime sector with a strong focus on building the capacity of its emerging generation.

"Piracy is a global menace which seems to be outpacing the international community's efforts to control it," said Shaikh Daij.

Response

"This year, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) not only wants to focus and intensify its efforts to meet the challenges of modern day piracy, but also to facilitate the orchestration of a broader, global response aimed at combating it."

Shaikh Daij said events during the festival would include an anti-piracy seminar, a Bahrain Model United Nations forum, a secondary school maritime programme, a maritime family fun campaign, a maritime photography contest and media awareness campaign.

The inaugural festival was held last September under the theme Year of the Seafarer.

The United Nations, through the IMO, initiated World Maritime Day to commemorate the maritime industry's contribution to the global economy, specifically in the shipping and logistics sectors. – TradeArabia News Service