Ras Laffan wins three Seatrade awards

Seatrade awards, recognizes the achievements in maritime safety and the environment, ship and port operations and efficiency, security and financing.

The winners were honored at a gala dinner attended by around 600 senior executives of the region's maritime and related industries at Al Johara Ballroom, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai on Thursday 8th of October 2009. The evening's guest of honour was HE Dr Nasser Al Mansoori, Director General, National Transport Authority, UAE.

"These prestigious awards celebrate and reward excellence and innovation in the maritime sector across the region and are much anticipated throughout the industry,"

said Christopher Hayman, Chairman of Seatrade, the award organizers.

More than 60 companies and organisations were short-listed for the awards. In addition, three individuals were singled out for special honours for their significant and lasting contributions to the shipping and maritime industry throughout the region.

This year's celebrity host Mishal Husain, who is a familiar face to viewers around the world as a key presenter on BBC World News added glitter and glamour to a wonderful evening.

Ras Laffan Industrial City claimed the first of its three honours of the night by winning the 'Environment Protection award'. This award was a first for Ras Laffan Industrial City and it was presented by Mr. Joseph Brincat, Vice President, ABS- Middle East to RLC Director Sheikh Khalid Bin Khalifa Al Thani and Dr. Mohammad Albeldawi, RLC Head of Environment.

It was a tough competition between DP World (UAE), Gujarat Pipavav Port Limited and QP-RLC who were shortlisted for 'The Port Authority Award'. Ras Laffan Industrial City who was the winner in the 2007 edition of the awards, won the coveted honour again this year. The award, sponsored by Hind terminals & Samsara Group, was presented by Mr. Salah Sharaf, Director, Sharaf Group to Sheikh Khalid and Captain Feisal Saad, RLC Port Manager.

The celebration for the RLC team had already begun even before the announcement of its second consecutive award, 'The Energy: Oil & Gas award', which was presented to RLC for the second consecutive year. The award was presented by Mr. Yaquob Abdullah, Director of Marketing & Promotions, Sharjah Port Authority to Sheikh Khalid and Mr. Abdul Qader Qaddumi, Manager, Industrial Planning & Development.

Speaking on the achievement, Sheikh Khalid mentioned, "This is a dream run for us and it is a significant moment for all of us at QP and RLC. We are thankful to HE Abdulla Bin Hamad Al Attiyah, Deputy Premier & Minister of Energy and Industry for his directives and support and to each and every employee of Ras Laffan, who were the crucial factors for this resounding success and the series of accolades received tonight."

The Seatrade awards have always been a special one for Ras Laffan Industrial City. Ras Laffan is a recipient of the 2007 'Port Authority award' and the 2008 'The Energy Oil & Gas Award'. The vision of Ras Laffan Industrial City is to become a world leader in providing quality services to international customers operating in the natural gas sector.

Ras Laffan port is currently the world's largest Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) facility exporting currently 54 million tonnes of LNG per year to Asian, European and American markets. The port would soon be exporting a record of 77 million tonnes of LNG per year along with Gas-To-Liquids (GTL) and petrochemical products.