HANSA 06-2019

Häfen | Ports
UAE builds on its seafaring heritage
Already recognized as an increasingly important location, U.A.E. intends to further expand
its position as a maritime hub. Among others, plans are being pursued for maritime
services, education, classification and ports, Mark Venbles writes
Since the days that the Barbary Pirates
ruled the waves along the Persian
Gulf, the region has enjoyed a deep-rooted
relationship with the maritime sector.
While to some extent that remains the
case today for the United Arab Emirates
(UAE) there is no escaping the fact that
despite that heritage the sector no longer
holds sway over the industry in the region.
In the UAE the maritime sector contributes
around 5% of the nation’s GDP
despite other sectors such as construction
and materials, metal fabrication, textiles,
and food processing now leading the way.
»A hundred years ago 16,000 people
were living in Dubai,« Nawfal Al Journai,
director of Dubai Maritime Cluster
Office (DMCO), says. If you look at
that workforce, almost 6,000 people, all
of them, 100%, were working in the maritime
sector. Now fast forward to 2019,
what’s the percentage? Over two million
people now live in Dubai and less than
half a percent work in the maritime sector.
»In Dubai, we have a long-term strategy
to grow the national talent. We have
institutions that teach and train people
to become qualified in the maritime industry.
However, it is a culture issue more
than anything else, particularly if you’re
from the UAE. A hundred years ago it
wasn’t a pleasant industry. It was associated
with loss, pain, and the suffering
because of the conditions for seafarers
at that time. However, we are starting to
change the persona of what it is like to be
working in the maritime field.«
Unlike a century ago a buoyant Dubai
offers a myriad of high-tech opportunities
for employment, something that
the DMCO recognizes. This is one of the
reasons that a prime focus in the maritime
strategy is digitization. »We have
the Dubai Maritime Virtual Cluster.
This is an innovative concept that promotes
ease, efficiency, and quality for a
broad and integrated range of maritime
services provided by the maritime sector
to all marine investors from around the
world while also helping bolster more
cooperation and engagement between
industry leaders through a virtual platform
that the cluster provides.«
Dubai is No. 9 of maritime capitals and the leading center
in the Middle East, India, and Africa region
© DMCO
80 HANSA International Maritime Journal 06 | 2019