Gulf Maritime exhibition & Mastech conference set to anchor regional maritime industry

The UAE's growing influence as an import and export hub and the rising popularity of its east coast with containership operators is generating greater global interest in regional maritime industry.

And, anchoring the regional maritime industry amid a robust logistics & shipping sectors and rising container traffic is the upcoming event for the commercial, government and military maritime industry, Gulf Maritime 2013.

Held under the patronage of Sharjah Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler H.H. Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Bin Sultan Al Qassimi, the ninth Gulf Maritime exhibition and MASTECH conference will be organized at Expo Centre Sharjah from November 25 to 27, 2013.

"The maritime industry is propelling the local economy to greater heights... the sustained growth of the sector has helped the country in improving its competitiveness and standing as a premier trade and logistics hub at the regional and international levels," said Mr. Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, Director-General, Expo Centre Sharjah.

Increasing trade activity has already manifested in the form of more shipping and container traffic, with Sharjah's Gulftainer reporting a 24 per cent increase in trade volume in 2012 when compared with 2011.

Gulftainer's Sharjah ports saw the greatest volumes throughout the year, with Khor Fakkan Container Terminal seeing growth of 28 per cent on its 2011 figures with a throughput of over 3.3m TEU. The company has seen consistent growth over the years, with trade volumes more than tripling in the past decade.

As in the past show, MASTECH naval architecture and shipbuilding conference will be held alongside Gulf Maritime 2013. It is for the second consecutive year that MAST, an association of naval architects, and Expo Centre Sharjah, have entered into an agreement to organize Mastech 2013 during Gulf Maritime.

And, with a few more months to go for the event, MASTECH has already seen the confirmation of 12 papers on major topics like ship building & repair, marine engineering, naval architecture, offshore and oil & gas, with the final session set to focus on "Energy Efficiency" that will have vessel owners, equipment suppliers and other stakeholders on the panel. The conference will be held on November 25 and 26. said Mr. Shaji P J, President of MAST.

"Together, the Gulf Maritime trade fair and MASTECH technical conference have generated so much interest in the market that we have on board Sharjah Ports Authority as Hamriyah Free Zone Authority as principal sponsors for the exhibition and American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and Technomak as gold sponsors for the conference," said Mr. Ashik Subahani, Managing Director of Great Waters Maritime L.L.C & Event Convener- MASTECH 2013.

Besides, for the first time, the event will also see a pavilion by Piceno Promozone, one of the biggest maritime business agency.

The eighth edition of Gulf Maritime, held in December 2011, attracted 2,316 trade visitors and delegates from 44 countries, as against 1,890 visitors for its previous edition. Mastech 2011 saw about 638 delegates attending the presentation of nearly 20 technical papers in five sessions.