Vela International Marine and Saudi Aramco honored at Maritime Awards Ceremony

Vela won the 'Education and Training Award,' given by Lloyd's Register, for its cadet and apprentice training program, and Saudi Aramco's Marine Department won an award in the 'Safety and Quality of Shipping' category, presented by Dubai Dry Docks. The Saudi Aramco award was accepted by Amer Al-Sulaim, Saudi Aramco Executive Director of Industrial Services.

Also at the event, Vela President & CEO Saleh B. K'aki was awarded 'Seatrade Personality of the Year' for west and central Asia for his contributions to the industry. Chris Haywood, Seatrade Managing Editor (London), presented the award to Mr. K'aki, citing his influence on the industry's recent improvements in safety, which have been spearheaded by Vela.

Past winners of the 'Seatrade Personality of the Year' award include Rear Admiral Efthimos Mitropoulos, current Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (the UN's regulatory body governing international shipping) and Mohammed Souri, President of the National Iranian Tanker Corporation.

The DIMA awards are sponsored annually by Seatrade Magazine. An independent panel of judges confers the awards based on submitted nominations. There are 13 awards categories, such as Safety & Quality of Shipping, Technical Innovation and others.

This is the third consecutive year that Vela has won at least one DIMA award.

Vela International Marine, Ltd. is a subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco).