Bahrain-based Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard Company (Asry) has signed up as strategic sponsor of a major upcoming maritime event in Bahrain.

Conceptualised by Bahrain’s General Organisation of Seaports (GOP) to commemorate World Maritime Day (WMD), the second annual Bahrain Maritime Festival (BMF) will run from September 25 to 29.

BMF 2011 will be held under the theme “Piracy: Orchestrating the Response”, which aims to generate awareness on the global threat from piracy.

World Maritime Day is an annual global initiative launched by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which commemorates the international maritime industry’s contribution towards the global economy, specifically in the shipping and logistics sectors.

“We are delighted to again take up the strategic sponsorship of the 2011 World Maritime Day for the second consecutive year,” said Chris Potter, chief executive officer of Asry.

“The maritime industry has seen something of a boom in recent years, and with it has grown the threat of piracy along most of the world’s major shipping lanes.  Modern piracy has become a very serious problem, not only affecting those immediately involved, but also rippling outwards to affect global economies, individual companies and the general public.”

“Our support of the BMF this year is our way of helping generate the awareness that modern-day piracy deserves, and focusing on the best international response practices to piracy,” he added.

GOP director general, Hassan Ali Almajed, said: “We are very pleased that Asry has once again given us their support as a strategic sponsor of BMF 2011.”

“This support is testament to the success of The Bahrain Maritime Festival last year, and the importance that we and our partners give to issues such as piracy.  We are looking forward to making this event even more of a success than was last year’s event,” he concluded.

IMO member countries worldwide including Bahrain, Australia, Canada, the UK and the US join together to observe World Maritime Day every year.  The event’s date varies by year and country but it is always celebrated during the last week of September. – TradeArabia News Service