Latest news with #HongKongConvention
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
New rules may not change dirty and deadly ship recycling business
Mizan Hossain fell 10 metres (33-foot) from the top of a ship he was cutting up on Chittagong beach in Bangladesh -- where the majority of the world's maritime giants meet their end -- when the vibrations shook him from the upper deck. He survived, but his back was crushed. "I can't get up in the morning," said the 31-year-old who has a wife, three children and his parents to support. "We eat one meal in two, and I see no way out of my situation," said Hossain, his hands swollen below a deep scar on his right arm. The shipbreaking site where Hossain worked without a harness did not comply with international safety and environmental standards. Hossain has been cutting up ships on the sand without proper protection or insurance since he was a child, like many men in his village a few kilometres inland from the giant beached ships. One of his neighbours had his toes crushed in another yard shortly before AFP visited Chittagong in February. Shipbreaking yards employ 20,000 to 30,000 people directly or indirectly in the sprawling port on the Bay of Bengal. But the human and environmental cost of the industry is also immense, experts say. The Hong Kong Convention on the Recycling of Ships, which is meant to regulate one of the world's most dangerous industries, is set to come into effect on June 26. But many question whether its rules on handling toxic waste and protecting workers are sufficient or if they will ever be properly implemented. Only seven out of Chittagong's 30 yards meet the new rules about equipping workers with helmets, harnesses and other protection as well as protocols for decontaminating ships of asbestos and other pollutants and storing hazardous waste. - No official death tolls - Chittagong was the final destination of nearly a third of the 409 ships dismantled globally last year, according to the NGO coalition Shipbreaking Platform. Most of the others ended up in India, Pakistan, or Turkey. But Bangladesh -- close to the Asian nerve centre of global maritime commerce -- offers the best price for buying end-of-life ships due to its extremely low labour costs, with a minimum monthly wage of around $133 (115 euros). Chittagong's 25-kilometre stretch of beach is the world's biggest ship graveyard. Giant hulks of oil tankers or gas carriers lie in the mud under the scorching sun, an army of workers slowly dismembering them with oxyacetylene torches. "When I started (in the 2000s) it was extremely dangerous," said Mohammad Ali, a thickset union leader who long worked without protection dismantling ships on the sand. "Accidents were frequent, and there were regular deaths and injuries." He was left incapacitated for months after being hit on the head by a piece of metal. "When there's an accident, you're either dead or disabled," the 48-year-old said. At least 470 workers have been killed and 512 seriously injured in the shipbreaking yards of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan since 2009, according to the Shipbreaking Platform NGO. No official death toll is kept in Chittagong. But between 10 and 22 workers a year died in its yards between 2018 and 2022, according to a count kept by Mohamed Ali Sahin, founder of a workers' support centre. There have been improvements in recent years, he said, especially after Dhaka ratified the Hong Kong Convention in 2023, Sahin said. But seven workers still died last year and major progress is needed, he said. The industry is further accused of causing major environmental damage, particularly to mangroves, with oil and heavy metals escaping into the sea from the beach. Asbestos -- which is not illegal in Bangladesh -- is also dumped in open-air landfills. Shipbreaking is also to blame for abnormally high levels of arsenic and other metalloids in the region's soil, rice and vegetables, according to a 2024 study in the Journal of Hazardous Materials. - 'Responsibility should be shared' - PHP, the most modern yard in the region, is one of few in Chittagong that meets the new standards. Criticism of pollution and working conditions in Bangladesh yards annoys its managing director Mohammed Zahirul Islam. "Just because we're South Asian, with dark skin, are we not capable of excelling in a field?" he told AFP. "Ships are built in developed countries... then used by Europeans and Westerners for 20 or 30 years, and we get them (at the end) for four months. "But everything is our fault," he said as workers in helmets, their faces shielded by plastic visors to protect them from metal shards, dismantled a Japanese gas carrier on a concrete platform near the shore. "There should be a shared responsibility for everyone involved in this whole cycle," he added. His yard has modern cranes and even flower beds, but workers are not masked as they are in Europe to protect them from inhaling metal dust and fumes. But modernising yards to meet the new standards is costly, with PHP spending $10 million to up its game. With the sector in crisis, with half as many ships sent for scrap since the pandemic -- and Bangladesh hit by instability after the tumultuous ousting of premier Sheikh Hasina in August -- investors are reluctant, said John Alonso of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Chittagong still has no facility to treat or store hazardous materials taken from ships. PHP encases the asbestos it extracts in cement and stores it on-site in a dedicated room. "I think we have about six to seven years of storage capacity," said its expert Liton Mamudzer. But NGOs like Shipbreaking Platform and Robin des Bois are sceptical about how feasible this is, with some ships containing scores of tonnes of asbestos. And Walton Pantland, of the global union federation IndustriALL, questioned whether the Hong Kong standards will be maintained once yards get their certification, with inspections left to local officials. Indeed six workers were killed in September in an explosion at SN Corporation's Chittagong yard, which was compliant with the convention. Shipbreaking Platform said it was symptomatic of a lack of adequate "regulation, supervision and worker protections" in Bangladesh, even with the Hong Kong rules. - 'Toxic' Trojan horse - The NGO's director Ingvild Jenssen said shipowners were using the Hong Kong Convention to bypass the Basel Convention, which bans OECD countries from exporting toxic waste to developing nations. She accused them of using it to offload toxic ships cheaply at South Asian yards without fear of prosecution, using a flag of convenience or intermediaries. In contrast, European shipowners are required to dismantle ships based on the continent, or flying a European flag, under the much stricter Ship Recycling Regulation (SRR). At the Belgian shipbreaking yard Galloo near the Ghent-Terneuzen canal, demolition chief Peter Wyntin told AFP how ships are broken down into "50 different kinds of materials" to be recycled. Everything is mechanised, with only five or six workers wearing helmets, visors and masks to filter the air, doing the actual breaking amid mountains of scrap metal. A wind turbine supplies electricity, and a net collects anything that falls in the canal. Galloo also sank 10 million euros into water treatment, using activated carbon and bacterial filters. But Wyntin said it is a struggle to survive with several European yards forced to shut as Turkish ones with EU certification take much of the business. While shipbreakers in the EU have "25,000 pages of legislation to comply with", he argued, those in Aliaga on the western coast of Turkey have only 25 pages of rules to respect to be "third-country compliant under SRR". Wyntin is deeply worried the Hong Kong Convention will further undermine standards and European yards with them. "You can certify yards in Turkey or Asia, but it still involves beaching," where ships are dismantled directly on the shore. "And beaching is a process we would never accept in Europe," he insisted. - Illegal dumps - Turkish health and safety officials reported eight deaths since 2020 at shipbreaking yards in Aliaga, near Izmir, which specialises in dismantling cruise ships. "If we have a fatality, work inspectors arrive immediately and we risk being shut down," Wyntin told AFP. In April, Galloo lost a bid to recycle a 13,000-tonne Italian ferry, with 400 tonnes of asbestos, to a Turkish yard, Wyntin said. Yet in May, the local council in Aliaga said "hazardous waste was stored in an environmentally harmful manner, sometimes just covered with soil." "It's estimated that 15,000 tons of hazardous waste are scattered in the region, endangering human and environmental health due to illegal storage methods," it said on X, posting photos of illegal dumps. In Bangladesh, Human Rights Watch and the Shipbreaking Platform have reported that "toxic materials from ships, including asbestos" are sometimes "resold on the second-hand market". In Chittagong everything gets recycled. On the road along the beach, shops overflow with furniture, toilets, generators and staircases taken straight from the hulks pulled up on the beach a few metres away. Not far away, Rekha Akter mourned her husband, one of those who died in the explosion at SN Corporation's yard in September. A safety supervisor, his lungs were burned in the blast. Without his salary, she fears that she and their two young children are "condemned to live in poverty. It's our fate," said the young widow. agu/dp/fg/rl
News.com.au
18-06-2025
- General
- News.com.au
New rules may not change dirty and deadly ship recycling business
Mizan Hossain fell 10 metres (33-foot) from the top of a ship he was cutting up on Chittagong beach in Bangladesh -- where the majority of the world's maritime giants meet their end -- when the vibrations shook him from the upper deck. He survived, but his back was crushed. "I can't get up in the morning," said the 31-year-old who has a wife, three children and his parents to support. "We eat one meal in two, and I see no way out of my situation," said Hossain, his hands swollen below a deep scar on his right arm. The shipbreaking site where Hossain worked without a harness did not comply with international safety and environmental standards. Hossain has been cutting up ships on the sand without proper protection or insurance since he was a child, like many men in his village a few kilometres inland from the giant beached ships. One of his neighbours had his toes crushed in another yard shortly before AFP visited Chittagong in February. Shipbreaking yards employ 20,000 to 30,000 people directly or indirectly in the sprawling port on the Bay of Bengal. But the human and environmental cost of the industry is also immense, experts say. The Hong Kong Convention on the Recycling of Ships, which is meant to regulate one of the world's most dangerous industries, is set to come into effect on June 26. But many question whether its rules on handling toxic waste and protecting workers are sufficient or if they will ever be properly implemented. Only seven out of Chittagong's 30 yards meet the new rules about equipping workers with helmets, harnesses and other protection as well as protocols for decontaminating ships of asbestos and other pollutants and storing hazardous waste. - No official death tolls - Chittagong was the final destination of nearly a third of the 409 ships dismantled globally last year, according to the NGO coalition Shipbreaking Platform. Most of the others ended up in India, Pakistan, or Turkey. But Bangladesh -- close to the Asian nerve centre of global maritime commerce -- offers the best price for buying end-of-life ships due to its extremely low labour costs, with a minimum monthly wage of around $133 (115 euros). Chittagong's 25-kilometre stretch of beach is the world's biggest ship graveyard. Giant hulks of oil tankers or gas carriers lie in the mud under the scorching sun, an army of workers slowly dismembering them with oxyacetylene torches. "When I started (in the 2000s) it was extremely dangerous," said Mohammad Ali, a thickset union leader who long worked without protection dismantling ships on the sand. "Accidents were frequent, and there were regular deaths and injuries." He was left incapacitated for months after being hit on the head by a piece of metal. "When there's an accident, you're either dead or disabled," the 48-year-old said. At least 470 workers have been killed and 512 seriously injured in the shipbreaking yards of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan since 2009, according to the Shipbreaking Platform NGO. No official death toll is kept in Chittagong. But between 10 and 22 workers a year died in its yards between 2018 and 2022, according to a count kept by Mohamed Ali Sahin, founder of a workers' support centre. There have been improvements in recent years, he said, especially after Dhaka ratified the Hong Kong Convention in 2023, Sahin said. But seven workers still died last year and major progress is needed, he said. The industry is further accused of causing major environmental damage, particularly to mangroves, with oil and heavy metals escaping into the sea from the beach. Asbestos -- which is not illegal in Bangladesh -- is also dumped in open-air landfills. Shipbreaking is also to blame for abnormally high levels of arsenic and other metalloids in the region's soil, rice and vegetables, according to a 2024 study in the Journal of Hazardous Materials. - 'Responsibility should be shared' - PHP, the most modern yard in the region, is one of few in Chittagong that meets the new standards. Criticism of pollution and working conditions in Bangladesh yards annoys its managing director Mohammed Zahirul Islam. "Just because we're South Asian, with dark skin, are we not capable of excelling in a field?" he told AFP. "Ships are built in developed countries... then used by Europeans and Westerners for 20 or 30 years, and we get them (at the end) for four months. "But everything is our fault," he said as workers in helmets, their faces shielded by plastic visors to protect them from metal shards, dismantled a Japanese gas carrier on a concrete platform near the shore. "There should be a shared responsibility for everyone involved in this whole cycle," he added. His yard has modern cranes and even flower beds, but workers are not masked as they are in Europe to protect them from inhaling metal dust and fumes. But modernising yards to meet the new standards is costly, with PHP spending $10 million to up its game. With the sector in crisis, with half as many ships sent for scrap since the pandemic -- and Bangladesh hit by instability after the tumultuous ousting of premier Sheikh Hasina in August -- investors are reluctant, said John Alonso of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Chittagong still has no facility to treat or store hazardous materials taken from ships. PHP encases the asbestos it extracts in cement and stores it on-site in a dedicated room. "I think we have about six to seven years of storage capacity," said its expert Liton Mamudzer. But NGOs like Shipbreaking Platform and Robin des Bois are sceptical about how feasible this is, with some ships containing scores of tonnes of asbestos. And Walton Pantland, of the global union federation IndustriALL, questioned whether the Hong Kong standards will be maintained once yards get their certification, with inspections left to local officials. Indeed six workers were killed in September in an explosion at SN Corporation's Chittagong yard, which was compliant with the convention. Shipbreaking Platform said it was symptomatic of a lack of adequate "regulation, supervision and worker protections" in Bangladesh, even with the Hong Kong rules. - 'Toxic' Trojan horse - The NGO's director Ingvild Jenssen said shipowners were using the Hong Kong Convention to bypass the Basel Convention, which bans OECD countries from exporting toxic waste to developing nations. She accused them of using it to offload toxic ships cheaply at South Asian yards without fear of prosecution, using a flag of convenience or intermediaries. In contrast, European shipowners are required to dismantle ships based on the continent, or flying a European flag, under the much stricter Ship Recycling Regulation (SRR). At the Belgian shipbreaking yard Galloo near the Ghent-Terneuzen canal, demolition chief Peter Wyntin told AFP how ships are broken down into "50 different kinds of materials" to be recycled. Everything is mechanised, with only five or six workers wearing helmets, visors and masks to filter the air, doing the actual breaking amid mountains of scrap metal. A wind turbine supplies electricity, and a net collects anything that falls in the canal. Galloo also sank 10 million euros into water treatment, using activated carbon and bacterial filters. But Wyntin said it is a struggle to survive with several European yards forced to shut as Turkish ones with EU certification take much of the business. While shipbreakers in the EU have "25,000 pages of legislation to comply with", he argued, those in Aliaga on the western coast of Turkey have only 25 pages of rules to respect to be "third-country compliant under SRR". Wyntin is deeply worried the Hong Kong Convention will further undermine standards and European yards with them. "You can certify yards in Turkey or Asia, but it still involves beaching," where ships are dismantled directly on the shore. "And beaching is a process we would never accept in Europe," he insisted. - Illegal dumps - Turkish health and safety officials reported eight deaths since 2020 at shipbreaking yards in Aliaga, near Izmir, which specialises in dismantling cruise ships. "If we have a fatality, work inspectors arrive immediately and we risk being shut down," Wyntin told AFP. In April, Galloo lost a bid to recycle a 13,000-tonne Italian ferry, with 400 tonnes of asbestos, to a Turkish yard, Wyntin said. Yet in May, the local council in Aliaga said "hazardous waste was stored in an environmentally harmful manner, sometimes just covered with soil." "It's estimated that 15,000 tons of hazardous waste are scattered in the region, endangering human and environmental health due to illegal storage methods," it said on X, posting photos of illegal dumps. In Bangladesh, Human Rights Watch and the Shipbreaking Platform have reported that "toxic materials from ships, including asbestos" are sometimes "resold on the second-hand market". In Chittagong everything gets recycled. On the road along the beach, shops overflow with furniture, toilets, generators and staircases taken straight from the hulks pulled up on the beach a few metres away. Not far away, Rekha Akter mourned her husband, one of those who died in the explosion at SN Corporation's yard in September. A safety supervisor, his lungs were burned in the blast. Without his salary, she fears that she and their two young children are "condemned to live in poverty. It's our fate," said the young widow. agu/dp/fg/rl
Gulf Today
13-06-2025
- Business
- Gulf Today
AD Ports Group, ASRY to collaborate on strategic maritime, ports projects
AD Ports Group signed three Heads of Terms (HoTs) with the Arab Shipbuilding & Repair Yard Company (ASRY), for the provision of marine services in Bahrain to collaborate on strategic maritime and ports projects. The signing took place in the presence of Shaikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, His Majesty's Representative for Humanitarian Works and Youth Affairs, Kingdom of Bahrain, Chairman of Bapco Energies. These new agreements follow the successful establishment of ASRY Marine, a joint venture between Noatum Maritime, part of AD Ports Group's Maritime & Shipping Cluster, and ASRY, focused on providing integrated marine services in Bahrain. The first Head of Terms (HoT) pertains to a Joint Venture (JV) to manage drydock facilities and shipyards. The JV aims to leverage the capabilities and facilities of each party through their established businesses in this sector. This agreement seeks to enhance drydocking and shipbuilding capabilities within the GCC and explore opportunities in other regions. Additionally, both parties signed a second HoT with a third party, JM Baxi, an India-based well-established business specialising in marine services, ports, logistics, and technology. This agreement focuses on creating green ship recycling facilities to promote a circular economy by repurposing parts and minimising waste, thereby reducing carbon emissions. Green recycling in the shipping industry involves the environmentally responsible dismantling and repurposing of ships, contributing to resource conservation and pollution reduction. JM BAXI is actively involved in promoting and implementing sustainable practices in this area and supports the implementation of the Hong Kong Convention (HKC), a global standard for responsible ship recycling. The final HoT signed by AD Ports Group and ASRY relates to exploring joint investment opportunities within ports and terminals. Through the creation of a collaborative framework and a working group the parties will draw on their joint expertise to identify prospective areas of development. Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Managing Director and Group CEO of AD Ports Group, said, 'Following the successful formation of our recent joint venture with ASRY, we look forward to deepening our collaboration across the maritime realm. We have already developed strong working ties, and this agreement opens the door to create more value and growth across our operations. Exploring opportunities to establish green ship recycling facilities is also very important for us, ensuring that vessels are retired in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.' Dr. Ahmed Al Abri, CEO - ASRY, said, ' We are proud to enhance and expand our strategic partnership with AD Ports Group through these new agreements. By combining our shared expertise and advanced infrastructure, and in line with global shifts in the maritime industry, we aim to strengthen our capabilities in drydocking and shipbuilding across the GCC and beyond.' 'We also look forward to developing green ship recycling capacities and entering a vital new field in port management and operation. These initiatives reflect our ongoing commitment to a culture of innovation, operational excellence, and driving growth in the maritime sector.' The new areas of cooperation strengthen both parties' maritime capabilities and reach, while the focus on green ship recycling highlights a commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility, driving innovation and industry growth. Meanwhile last month AD Ports Group signed a Head of Terms Agreement with Advario, a leading global provider of tank storage and infrastructure solutions, to explore establishing a joint venture to develop and operate green energy and liquid bulk storage projects in the UAE and globally. The proposed joint venture, which would be 51 per cent owned by AD Ports Group and 49 per cent by Advario, has the potential to unlock significant growth opportunities in the fields of clean energy alternatives and bulk chemicals storage by leveraging the partners' complementary strengths, expertise, and market access. AD Ports Group would work closely with Advario's UAE partner, Star Energy, to explore the collaboration. If a joint venture is created, Advario would build bulk storage tanks at Khalifa Port and supporting pipeline infrastructure to the Group's clients in KEZAD, the Middle East's largest integrated industrial zone network. By leveraging KEZAD's industrial base and fully integrated infrastructure, a collaboration will not only enhance AD Ports Group's existing liquid bulk capabilities, but create a launchpad for future investments in clean energy infrastructure, including hydrogen carriers such as ammonia, methanol, and other emerging fuels. WAM
Arabian Post
13-06-2025
- Business
- Arabian Post
AD Ports and ASRY Forge Maritime Growth Alliance
A new maritime alliance took shape on 12 June 2025 as AD Ports Group and the Arab Shipbuilding & Repair Yard Company signed three Heads of Terms, solidifying their collaboration in marine services across Bahrain, in a ceremony attended by H.H. Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, His Majesty's Representative for Humanitarian Works and Youth Affairs and Chairman of Bapco Energies. The agreements build upon the operational success of ASRY Marine, a joint venture between Noatum Maritime—a division within AD Ports' Maritime & Shipping Cluster—and ASRY. The first agreement paves the way for a joint venture to manage dry-dock facilities and shipyards. This alliance intends to elevate shipbuilding and dry-docking capacities within the Gulf Cooperation Council region and investigate expansion into other markets. A second agreement brings JM Baxi, an Indian marine‑services and logistics specialist, into the fold. Together, the trio will develop green ship‑recycling facilities, aligning with the Hong Kong Convention's standards to promote a circular maritime economy while reducing carbon emissions. ADVERTISEMENT The third agreement focuses on exploring joint investments across ports and terminal operations. A strategic working group will evaluate potential development opportunities and shared infrastructure initiatives. Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Managing Director and Group CEO of AD Ports Group, described this as a natural progression of their maritime ties: 'Following the successful formation of our recent joint venture with ASRY, we look forward to deepening our collaboration across the maritime realm.' He emphasised that establishing green ship‑recycling facilities would ensure vessels are retired responsibly. Dr Ahmed Al Abri, CEO of ASRY, expressed confidence in the partnership's potential: 'By combining our shared expertise and advanced infrastructure… we aim to strengthen our capabilities in dry-docking and shipbuilding across the GCC and beyond.' He also highlighted the firm's commitment to innovation and sustainability, particularly in ship recycling facilities and new terminal operations. The deal builds upon the February 2025 launch of ASRY Marine, in which Noatum Maritime contributed four ASD tugboats and a mooring vessel to modernise ASRY's fleet. The operational deployment of these tugs in April underscored the joint venture's readiness, showcasing the firms' intent to enhance efficiency and reliability through modern assets. Industry analysts suggest that this multi‑layered agreement positions Bahrain as a regional hub for integrated maritime services, underpinned by sustainable practices and infrastructure investment. With the Gulf's shipping and ship-repair sectors poised for growth, the alliance is expected to offer a competitive edge. ASRY's expertise in fabrication and repair, backed by stakeholders from GCC nations since its establishment in 1977, complements AD Ports' regional logistics reach. The inclusion of green ship‑recycling aligns with global maritime trends. Under the Hong Kong Convention framework, these facilities focus on safe dismantling, materials recovery, and minimal ecological impact—a factor increasingly important as decarbonisation becomes integral to port strategies worldwide. Looking ahead, the formation of a working group to assess port and terminal investments signals a long‑term strategic vision. By integrating learnings from the dry-dock and recycling initiatives, both organisations can explore infrastructure synergies and diversify service offerings, potentially extending beyond Bahrain.
Al Etihad
12-06-2025
- Business
- Al Etihad
AD Ports Group, ASRY sign three heads of terms to collaborate on strategic maritime, ports projects
12 June 2025 20:32 ABU DHABI (WAM) AD Ports Group signed three Heads of Terms (HoTs) with the Arab Shipbuilding & Repair Yard Company (ASRY) for the provision of marine services in Bahrain to collaborate on strategic maritime and ports signing took place in the presence of His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, His Majesty's Representative for Humanitarian Works and Youth Affairs, Kingdom of Bahrain, Chairman of Bapco new agreements follow the successful establishment of ASRY Marine, a joint venture between Noatum Maritime, part of AD Ports Group's Maritime & Shipping Cluster, and ASRY, focused on providing integrated marine services in first Head of Terms (HoT) pertains to a Joint Venture (JV) to manage drydock facilities and shipyards. The JV aims to leverage the capabilities and facilities of each party through their established businesses in this agreement seeks to enhance drydocking and shipbuilding capabilities within the GCC and explore opportunities in other both parties signed a second HoT with a third party, JM Baxi, an India-based well-established business specialising in marine services, ports, logistics, and agreement focuses on creating green ship recycling facilities to promote a circular economy by repurposing parts and minimising waste, thereby reducing carbon recycling in the shipping industry involves the environmentally responsible dismantling and repurposing of ships, contributing to resource conservation and pollution BAXI is actively involved in promoting and implementing sustainable practices in this area and supports the implementation of the Hong Kong Convention (HKC), a global standard for responsible ship final HoT signed by AD Ports Group and ASRY relates to exploring joint investment opportunities within ports and terminals. Through the creation of a collaborative framework and a working group the parties will draw on their joint expertise to identify prospective areas of Director and Group CEO of AD Ports Group, Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, said, 'Following the successful formation of our recent joint venture with ASRY, we look forward to deepening our collaboration across the maritime realm. We have already developed strong working ties, and this agreement opens the door to create more value and growth across our operations. Exploring opportunities to establish green ship recycling facilities is also very important for us, ensuring that vessels are retired in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.'CEO – ASRY, Dr. Ahmed Al Abri, said, " We are proud to enhance and expand our strategic partnership with AD Ports Group through these new agreements. By combining our shared expertise and advanced infrastructure, and in line with global shifts in the maritime industry, we aim to strengthen our capabilities in drydocking and shipbuilding across the GCC and beyond. We also look forward to developing green ship recycling capacities and entering a vital new field in port management and operation. These initiatives reflect our ongoing commitment to a culture of innovation, operational excellence, and driving growth in the maritime sector." The new areas of cooperation strengthen both parties' maritime capabilities and reach, while the focus on green ship recycling highlights a commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility, driving innovation and industry growth.
