Captain Mohamed Al Shamisi, Executive Vice-President, Ports’ Unit, ADPC has been named ‘Young Personality of the Year in the Maritime Industry’ at the Seatrade Middle East and Indian Subcontinent Awards held in Dubai.
Captain Al Shamisi won the award for his pioneering role in the region’s shipping and ports industry. With over 14 years of sector experience, he is also the Chairman of Abu Dhabi Terminals, the container terminal operator of Khalifa Port, Mina Zayed free port and Mussafah port.
In his acceptance speech at the awards ceremony, Captain Al Shamisi said: “This is an honour for Abu Dhabi Ports Company. I would like to thank the leadership for entrusting me with the huge responsibility of looking after the ports of Abu Dhabi, particularly Khalifa Port. Commercial operations of Khalifa Port began on September 1 and it will be officially inaugurated on December 12, 2012.”
The four-day Seatrade Middle East Maritime 2012 event opened on 26 November at the Dubai International and Convention Centre. Captain Al Shamisi delivered a keynote address and participated in high-level panel discussions on the opening day of the event.
As a panelist at the discussion focusing on ‘Economic and Trading Environment’, Captain Al Shamisi highlighted the challenges facing the maritime industry. Additionally, he offered a regional and international perspective on the future outlook of the global economy and the impact on the trading environment.
He said: “Over the last six years, we have seen a dramatic change in the world’s economy. And key to that, from a trade point of view, is the shift in fortunes from the developed world to the emerging countries.”
Referring to a forecast from Drewry that container trade in the developed world will grow by 1-1.5 percent over the next few years, he pointed out that container trade in emerging markets – including the Middle East – is set to grow around 6-7%.
Highlighting the “shift in the geography of trade”, Captain Al Shamisi said this would mean a dramatic change in strategy for the shipping companies. “From a strategic point of view, the ports in the UAE and the wider Gulf region can serve as a bridge between traditional high volume trade routes and those that are expanding rapidly from a smaller base. We can – because of where we are – provide the link between Africa and Asia.”
Khalifa Port and Kizad provide access to two billion people within four time zones and are strategically placed to offer excellent multimodal transport – with purpose-built express highways and direct rail link planned in 2016.
The 6th Seatrade Middle East Maritime exhibition will run until 29 November and is expected to draw more than 7,000 participants from 67 countries.