Under the patronage of Minister Of labor, ACT celebrates Global Safety Day

Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT), the Kingdom’s primary gateway to the shipping lanes of the Red Sea and beyond, celebrated Global Safety Day on the 12^th of October. Under the patronage of the Minister of Labor, Dr. Mahmoud Kafaween, the day’s events featured safety training drills, a medical checkup for employees, and a site tour for families of staff.  

The opening ceremony had speeches from the Minister of Labor, APM Terminals representative Peter Jakobsen, and ACT CEO Soren Hansen. Hansen remarked on the event, “We at ACT are committed to the safety of our employees and business partners. This commitment is manifested in our comprehensive training programs and the strict monitoring and safety regulations that we employ. Each and every one of our employees is important to our operations and our team dynamic - losing even one person to injury is not something that we care to experience. That is why we all look out for each other, and why management enforces the safety regulations to the degree that we do.”

Speaking from his side, the Chairman of ACT HE Mohammad Turk said "We are very satisfied with the success of our Safety Day events. We put a lot of effort into this day considering how important the health and safety of our staff and business partners are to us, not to mention the importance of the environmental preservation of Aqaba itself. We hope to set the example for other companies, with the hope that employee and environmental safety becomes a major part of corporate culture in Jordan.”

The safety training sessions included a spillage drill for Bromine - a toxic chemical in liquid form - conducted with assistance from the Civil Defence department and the Jordanian Bromine Company. The day’s program also involved engaging truck drivers who play a large role in ACT’s operations. Truck drivers picking up and offloading cargo at ACT often find themselves transporting heavy cargo, leading ACT officials to push for truck driver safety education with the goal of decreasing the chance of accidents.

Education sessions were held for employees on such topics as social security, workplace injuries, the health effects of smoking, traffic safety on the terminal’s premises, greenhouse gas emissions, and on-site accident response. Employees from BAM International, the construction firm responsible for ACT’s massive berth expansion project, were also invited to participate in the day’s festivities. The event brought together the terminal’s employees, management and partners in a celebratory, family-oriented atmosphere.

The Global Safety Day celebration comes as part of a series of events at terminals operating under the umbrella of APM Terminals. ACT is a joint venture between the Aqaba Development Corporation and APM TERMINALS under a 25-year build-operate-transfer agreement signed in 2006.