Seatrade Middle East Maritime to feature Industry Awards

The Seatrade Middle East Maritime convention, which will be held in Dubai in December, will feature a dedicated awards programme aimed at encouraging excellence within the region’s shipping sector.

The maritime awards for West and Central Asia will run along the lines of the well-established Seatrade Awards scheme, which has been running in the UK and Europe for 16 years and has gained international recognition as one of the industry’s most prestigious honours programmes.

“The same international recognition will be achieved with the Seatrade awards for West and Central Asia,” explained Chris Hayman, Managing Director, Seatrade. “The awards will also help underscore the importance of Dubai as an international maritime hub.”

The annual awards programme, which is supported by Dubai Maritime City and Dubai Ports Authority, will honour those delivering Safety and Quality in Shipping; Innovation in Ship Operations; Protection of the Marine and Atmospheric Environment; Cruise Tourism Development, Education & Training, as well as identifying an Industry Personality of the Year.

“Nominees may be local, regional or international but their product must have either benefited the region’s maritime business during the preceding year or originate from within the region,” explained Hayman.

An independent panel of judges is to be established to oversee the awards.

“Judges will come from within the industry both regionally and internationally,” said Hayman. “The Seatrade awards are renowned for the impartiality of the judging process and we intend to continue with that spirit of independence for The Seatrade Awards For West and Central Asia, Dubai.”

The Seatrade Awards For West and Central Asia, Dubai will be presented at a special gala dinner on Monday 6 December during Seatrade Middle East Maritime 2004.

Meanwhile, organisations from 12 countries have already committed to the Seatrade Middle East Maritime exhibition, which will run alongside the conference at the Dubai World Trade Centre from December 6-8.

“We have taken the Sheikh Rashid Hall at DWTC to cope with increased demand,” said Hayman. “We envisage the show being triple the size of last year’s event and with the conference venue being integral within the Sheikh Rashid Hall, throughput of visitors should be enhanced with conference delegates and speakers now being very much a captive audience.”