Maritime industry protected from ravaging effects of crisis

Dubai: The maritime industry is healthy and the effects of the global financial crisis will only begin to be felt in the next two years by which time markets should recover, Sultan Ahmad Bin Sulayem, chairman of Dubai World and Dubai Ports, said at the opening of Seatrade Middle East Maritime, the regional summit of global ship operators and financiers.

"I don't see any immediate impact of the global economic crisis on the region's maritime industry. Maybe in the next two years it will be seen and by then the market will pick up again," he said, while touring the exhibition at the event at the World Trade Centre.

He said goods manufactured around the world had to be imported and exported, even during this period when many world markets tethered on the brink of recession.

"There is still heavy demand for cargo operations, both importing and exporting, between the region and the rest of the world.

"We have seen ups and downs before and the effects will take time to see. I have been in this business for 26 years. The dynamism of the economy in the UAE and in this part of the world is very strong," he said.

A conference tackling the recent surge in maritime piracy off the horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden will take place during the three-day event.

The session includes speakers from the security industry, legal advisers, tanker operators and seafarer organisations.

Around 100 hijackings off the coast of Somalia have taken place recently.

The largest ship taken by pirates was the Saudi Arabian-owned supertanker Sirius Star. Around $30 million (Dh110 million) is estimated to have been paid in ransom this year.