The UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure has launched a ‘Sail Safely’ initiative, as part of its ongoing efforts to protect the marine environment, enhance maritime safety and security, as well as protect people’s lives. The initiative includes an intensive training programme for captains of leisure and fishing boats to ensure that they adhere to the highest standards of operation in the sector, avoiding maritime accidents and protecting people’s lives. Through this free-of-cost programme, started earlier in August 2021, the Ministry aims to increase safety among boat and leisure vessel owners since a large number of marine accidents are caused…
Author: Jochebed Menon
Jochebed Menon
Jochebed Menon is the Editor of Logistics News Middle East. She covers issues related to the logistics and supply chain industries in the region. She’s been a journalist since 2012 and has primarily worked on B2B titles in travel, hospitality, aviation, and construction.
The UAE has the most competitive industrial sector in the Arab world, according to the latest UN global rankings. The country has reached 30th in the world in the 2021 United Nation’s Industrial Organization’s (UNIDO) Competitive Industrial Performance Index (CIP) report which tracks 152 countries. The UAE has climbed five places since 2020 and nine places since 2017 in the UNIDO CIP, demonstrating the competitiveness of the nation’s industrial sector and its business ecosystem, in line with the National Strategy for Industry and Advanced Technology, Operation 300Bn. The report noted the UAE’s progress in infrastructure and the industrial sector’s business…
In the first quarter of 2024, A.P. Moller – Maersk will introduce the first in a ground-breaking series of eight large ocean-going container vessels capable of being operated on carbon neutral methanol. The vessels will be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and have a nominal capacity of approx. 16,000 containers (Twenty Foot Equivalent – TEU). The agreement with HHI includes an option for four additional vessels in 2025. The series will replace older vessels, generating annual CO2 emissions savings of around one million tonnes. As an industry first, the vessels will offer Maersk customers truly carbon neutral transportation at…
SOHAR Port and Freezone and Hormuz Marine have signed a bunkering agreement which will see the launch of bunkering services at Sohar Port. The agreement comes in response to the growing need for offshore refueling, allowing vessels to bunker efficiently and speed up global shipping times at the port. The service from Hormuz Marine will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide and operate a 8,000 MT tanker capable of delivering several grades of marine fuel to ships in port each day, planning to start by mid of September, 2021. By signing this agreement, SOHAR…
GatewayRail, India’s leading intermodal logistics service provider and rail-linked Inland Container Depots (ICD) operator, has become the first rail operator in India to join TradeLens, a blockchain-underpinned digital logistics platform, jointly developed by A.P. Moller – Maersk and IBM. The association between GatewayRail and TradeLens is a major milestone in digitising India’s vast inland container logistics ecosystem with a significant impact on efficiency gained by exporters and importers. TradeLens brings together data from the entire global supply chain ecosystem. This data allows TradeLens and its network partners to modernise manual and paper-based documents by replacing them with blockchain-enabled digital solutions.…
In a boost to its global trade networks and partnerships, Uzbekistan joined the World Logistics Passport (WLP) as a Gateway. The WLP will bring increased traffic and revenues for Uzbekistani traders, will increase visibility of Uzbekistan to the WLP global network and will boost global connectivity. The Government of Uzbekistan will also be on hand to facilitate and support traders in Uzbekistan to register as WLP members. With the World Bank predicting that the country’s economy will grow by 4.8% in 2021, this partnership is set to spur trade between Uzbekistan and the world. Uzbekistan is Central Asia’s largest consumer…
Frigoblock, a supplier of transport refrigeration units in Europe and brand of Thermo King, has collaborated with Biogros, a Luxembourgish wholesaler and distributor of bio products and part of Oikopolis Group, to put the first fully electric refrigerated truck on Luxembourg’s roads. As part of the project, Frigoblock equipped the prototype MAN eTGM truck with the inverter driven FK25i refrigeration unit. Biogros calculates that in the first eight months of operations they saved over 2,900 litres of diesel equalling to approximately 9.4 tonnes of CO2, compared to similar diesel-fuelled truck in their fleet. By end of the year, they expect…
The Ajman Free Zone (AFZ) has become a leading choice for businesses as it offers not only world-class infrastructure but also a business-friendly environment. Eng Ali bin Towaih Al Suwaidi, Director General tells us more It’s been a little over a year since Al Suwaidi took over and the free zone has witnessed a tremendous growth. In the first quarter of the year 492 new companies registered in the free zone compared to 269 in 2020. Al Suwaidi has been instrumental in fostering a business-friendly environment for investors that stems from building personal relationships, safety, security, and accelerating the pace…
Masdar City Free Zone has introduced new business package options for new and existing companies based in the region’s hub for innovative sustainable technologies. In line with the recent UAE government announcement to ease the business environment in the UAE, Masdar City Free Zone has introduced the new business package options to further support business growth and development in Abu Dhabi. Abdulla Balalaa, Executive Director, Masdar City, said, “Masdar City is home to hundreds of companies, both international and local, that are dedicated to developing sustainability-focused technological innovations of the future. As the City’s dynamic ecosystem continues to grow, our…
Dubai Industrial City (DIC), a member of Dubai Holding Asset Management, has signed a strategic agreement with Emirates Development Bank (EDB), a financial enabler of the country’s economic diversification and industrial transformation agenda, to provide innovative financing and banking solutions to small and medium-sized enterprises and support the growth of vital national industries such as advanced manufacturing and logistics. Signed by Saud Abu Al-Shawareb, Managing Director of Dubai Industrial City and Shaker Zainal, Head of Business Finance at EDB, the strategic agreement aims to support Dubai Industrial City’s efforts to develop the industrial sector in Dubai and the UAE, provide…