The Kingdom of Bahrain is well on its way to strengthen the position of its maritime industry as a result of its holistic strategy towards building the sector, said His Excellency Hassan Ali AlMajed, Acting Undersecretary of Ports and Maritime Affairs at the Ministry of Transportation (MoT). The Kingdom’s new draft maritime law, which is currently being completed, covers all aspects of safety and security standards and includes environmental, economic and service considerations.

Mr AlMajed noted that MoT Ports and Maritime Affairs (PMA) has benchmarked this draft law against global industry regulations and standards that Bahrain’s maritime industry adheres to. Mr AlMajed was speaking on the occasion of World Maritime Day 2013, which is being celebrated across the world during the week of 23 to 27 September, under the theme of “Sustainable Development”.

His Excellency stated that MoT is working with all the relevant stakeholders to further enhance the Kingdom’s ports and maritime services in order to position Bahrain as a preferred global commercial hub, and one of the leading economic hubs in the Middle East, taking into consideration the special nature of regional waters’ marine and environmental life for which measures are in place to ensure protection and resource conservation is observed in the Kingdom’s waters.

Each year, World Maritime Day (WMD) is held under a theme of global importance and the 2013 theme, “Sustainable Development” aims to highlight the significance and contribution of the maritime industry in the global economy. As part of ensuring sustainable development, maritime safety, security, marine protection, excellence in operation and resource conservation are all critical elements that need to be considered.

The Kingdom of Bahrain, represented by MoT Port and Maritime Affairs, is a member of the International Maritime Organisation, an organisation under the United Nations which is responsible for overseeing the global maritime industry.