An elite assembly of global maritime industry leaders, decision makers, policy makers, senior government officials, and regional and international maritime pioneers have confirmed their participation and will discusses the present and future of the global maritime navigation industry at the Dubai Maritime Summit 2016, to be held next month, in Dubai, UAE.

The event, being held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, will take place on November 2.

The summit will be held under the umbrella of the Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA), the government authority charged with regulating, coordinating and supervising all aspects of Dubai’s maritime sector, said a statement.

The event will facilitate the creation of new ideas for advancing the development of the global maritime sector with a particular focus on encouraging innovation in maritime technology, enhancing maritime arbitration, and investing in human resources of the sector, it said.

The summit will be the centre of discussions during the latest edition of Dubai Maritime Week, the region’s prominent maritime event scheduled for October 30 to November 3. The best international practices and innovative solutions will be touched on with the aim of enhancing the competitive advantages of the global maritime clustering.

The group attending the summit includes Kitack Lim, secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization (IMO); Dr Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuaimi, UAE Minister of Infrastructure Development and Chairman of the Federal Transport Authority - Land and Maritime; Sultan Bin Sulayam, chairman of Dubai Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC) and the chairman of DMCA; and Admiral Mohab Mamish, chairman, Suez Canal Authority.

The summit’s distinguished agenda includes several in-depth discussions that will be held on the sidelines of the opening session and moderated by renowned international economic expert and journalist Todd Benjamin.

There will be five interactive sessions on ‘The State of the Global Industry,’ ‘The Global Shipping Markets,’ ‘Launch of the Emirates Maritime Arbitration Centre (EMAC),’ ‘Innovation in Shipping Technology’ and ‘Maritime Regulation’.

Industry pioneers will discuss ‘The State of the Global Industry’ during the first session with a focus on three main points: ‘The New Suez Canal,’ ‘China’s One Belt One Road strategy and what it means for the region,’ ‘Maritime and Trade Links with Europe’.

The second session will revolve around an assessment of the global maritime shipping markets to be done by international speakers who will highlight key prospects in the crude oil and product tanker markets, dry bulk, container and offshore markets.

Among the experts, government officials, and local and regional ship owners participating are Ahmed Al Falahi, chief executive officer of Gulf Energy Maritime Company; Abdulkareem Al Masabi, executive vice president - Ports, Abu Dhabi Ports; Stavroula Betsakou, head of Tanker Research at Howe Robinson Partners; and Rene Kofod- Olsen, chief executive officer of Topaz Energy and Marine Company.

The third session on ‘Launch of the Emirates Maritime Arbitration Centre (EMAC)’ will serve as an important platform for discussing progress in the maritime arbitration field as led by Dubai and at the regional and international levels.

Among the distinguished speakers are Majid Obaid Bin Bashir, vice chairman of EMAC; Mark Beer OBE, chief executive and registrar of Dubai International Financial Centre Courts; Richard Briggs, executive partner at Hadef and Partners; Captain Jitendra Misra, managing director, Emarat Maritime; and Edward Newitt, partner, Holman Fenwick Willan.

The impact of innovative technologies on the maritime sector will be the topic of the fourth session. Among the international personalities sharing their insights on the subject are Ali Shehab Ahmed, deputy chief executive of Kuwait Oil Tanker Company; Captain Gamal Fekry, CEO of Red Sea Marine Management DMCC; Oskar Levander, vice president of the Innovation Department at Rolls Royce; and Ronald Spithout, president of Inmarsat Maritime.

The fifth and final session will delve on maritime legislation and will be participated in by Essam Al Tamimi, senior partner, Al Tamimi & Co; Jasmin Fichte, managing partner, Fichte & Co Legal Consultancy; Ashok Mahapatra, director of the Maritime Safety Division at the IMO; and Katharina Stanzel, managing director, Intertanko. The participants will talk about progress on a well-developed legislative structure that can best complement the rapid growth being witnessed by the maritime sector locally and internationally.

Amer Ali, CEO of the Dubai Maritime City Authority, explained that the high-level participation in the Dubai Maritime Summit 2016 sessions reflects the high confidence of the international Maritime Community in the Emirate of Dubai as a first-class and leading maritime centre and a perfect destination for hosting major events that affect the current realities and future of the global maritime Sector.

Ali said: “We are honoured to host a group of prominent international personalities in the maritime sector to our leading forum, which will have a central role in restructuring the global maritime navigation markets.”

“We look forward to exciting and productive discussions on technological innovation and the opening up of new horizons for improving the growth of the maritime sector especially through maritime arbitration and legislations in order to keep pace with rapid 21st Century developments,” he concluded. – TradeArabia News Service