Gulf Maritime forums to tackle industry issues

Gulf Maritime 2005 is be the region's premier exhibition for the commercial, government and military maritime trade and will be held at Expo Centre Sharjah from April 18-20.

"The forums to be held alongside the show will provide unequalled opportunities for networking, learning, discussing and talk matters maritime," said Mr Fasahat Ali Khan, Acting Director General, Expo Centre Sharjah.

Well-known experts -- leading industry presenters, owners, builders, suppliers and researchers -- will examine industry problems and suggest solutions to them in the two forums to be held on April 19 and 20.

The offshore service vessels forum to be held on April 19 from 2-5pm will examine the future demand, the kind of vessels needed by Middle Eastern operators and their availability and longevity.

The keynote speaker at the forum will be Amer A. Al-Sulaim, Executive Director, Industrial Services, the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco).

His presentation will focus on "Ten year outlook for Saudi Aramco marine fleet requirements."

The second forum, to be held on April 20 from 2-5pm, will focus on patrol, assault, rescue and surveillance craft for Middle East operations. The forum will discuss the concept of the perfect patrol boat for the region and present solutions to the problems posed by smugglers and terrorists.

"The hour-long product presentation seminars are aimed at helping the exhibitors gather numerous potential clients in one room to present them new products and services," added Mr Khan.

On April 18, the seminars will cover design and making of fenders, importance of electronic chart systems onboard modern fleet, sophisticated marine electric and electronic systems, integrated waterjet engineering, testing high speed craft and future prospects.

How to utilise electronic maritime databases to reduce marketing and research costs, advanced combustion emission reduction technology and the relative positioning system for the future will be the themes tackled on April 19.

On April 20, the topics to be covered are hydrostatics and stability software, precision piloting and products and services by Saudi shipbuilding leader Zamil Shipyard.

Gulf Maritime 2005, to be held from April 18-20 at Expo Centre Sharjah, will feature over 180 exhibitors from over 26 countries.

The displays will include the latest in designing and building of different kinds of vessels, equipment for fishing, offshore support vessels, cargo ships, tankers, tugs, ferries, patrol boats, all types of ship repair and port operations products and cargo handling services.

Some of the prominent participants include Abu Dhabi Ship Building, the Dubai Ship Docking Yard (Al Jadaf), Al Hamra Port - RAK, Al Masaood Marine & Engineering, Albwardy Marine Engineering LLC, Arab Ship Building & Repair Yard Co., Astilleros Shipyard Zamakona, Balenciaga Shipyard, Batservice Holding, Berg Propulsion Asia Pte Ltd, Berkefeld Middle East, Bharati Shipyard Limited, Caterpillar Marine Power Systems, Cummins Middle East, Damen Shipyards, Dubai Drydocks, Dubai Maritime City, Emirates Inflatable Boat Est., Government of Sharjah - Seaports Authority, Hempel Paints Qatar W.L.L, Kobelt, Mohamed Abdulrahman Al-Bahar, Nico International UAE, Radio Holland BV M.E, Reintjes Middle East LLC, Riviera Pool Middle East, Rolls-Royce, Saab Marine Middle East, Seaspray Aluminium Boats, Southern Gulf Marine Industrial Co. LLC, Tensosys FZCO, Unique Systems LLC, Wartsila, Westfalia Separator Mineral Oil Systems, Zamil Operations & Maintenance Co Ltd, Zener Electronics and ZF Marine Middle East.

The show is organised jointly by Expo Centre Sharjah and Baird Publications of Singapore. The visitor timings are from 10am to 6pm.