The Maritime Standard Awards has announced the full list of finalists for the fifth annual awards to be held on October 15 at the Atlantis, the Palm, Dubai.

Around 800 high level executives from the worlds of shipping, ports, shipbuilding and repair and other maritime sectors will attend the event, along with leading figures from governmental agencies and international industry bodies, to witness the presentation of these prestigious awards.

For the fifth year in a row The Maritime Standard (TMS) has secured the royal patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and chairman and chief executive, Emirates Airline and Group.

An expert panel of judges drawn from different industry sectors, all with a long track record of excellence in their chosen fields, has over the past few weeks been assessing and evaluating nominations for a total of 19 different categories, the winners of which will be announced at the Gala dinner.

The editor of The Maritime Standard Clive Woodbridge said: "Once again the standard of entries for all of the Awards has been exceptionally high and a tremendous amount of effort has been put into making a strong case for each entry. It has not been an easy job for the judges to assess the entries, make comparisons and come to conclusions, but I am pleased to say this process has now been completed and all of those who are in contention for an Award deserve recognition as quality performers."

The categories that have been judged by the panel are: Safety and Security; Environmental Protection; Green Shipping; Technology & Innovation; Corporate Social Responsibility; Maritime Education and Training; Transport & Logistics and Energy, Oil and Gas Shipping. In addition there are awards for Shipyard/Ship Repair Facility; Marine Broker; Marine Insurance Company; Ship Manager; Ship Agency; Tanker Operator; Shipowner and Operator; Classification Society; Terminal Operator; Shipping Company and Port of the Year.

In addition to the Awards chosen by the judging panel on the basis of the nominations submitted, there will be a number of individual awards selected by The Maritime Standard. These include the Best Practices Award; Deal of the Year; Young Person in Shipping; Woman in Shipping; Editor's Choice; Outstanding Achievement; Personality of the Year; TMS Excellence in Shipping; Lifetime Achievement; and Hall of Fame Awards.

The selection of these shortlisted companies and organisations has been carried out by the independent judging panel, against criteria set for each category. No judge is asked to vote in a category where their company has an interest, nor where they are a nominee.  – TradeArabia News Service