GOP gearing up to commemorate World Maritime Day 2011

The General Organisation of Sea Ports (GOP) is gearing up to host the Bahrain Maritime Festival (BMF) for the second time, joining the international World Maritime Day (WMD) 2011 activities. This year’s theme is “Piracy: Orchestrating the Response”, and will focus on global initiatives to combat piracy and coordinate a cohesive international response to lessen the impact of piracy. 

The BMF was an idea that was first conceptualized by the GOP in 2010, and takes the form of a week-long festival with a full agenda of activities, all of which revolve around the IMO’s theme or touch directly on the maritime industry. The festival will aim to generate greater awareness of Bahrain’s growing achievements and developments and further position Bahrain as a pioneer in the global maritime industry. 

The Kingdom of Bahrain will join the rest of the world in commemorating WMD in a week-long festival from the 25^th to the 29^th of September, 2011.

Commenting on the announcement of the Bahrain Maritime Festival (BMF), Hassan Ali Al Majed, Director General of GOP said: “The Bahrain Maritime Festival is one of the major initiatives undertaken by the GOP to spread awareness about Bahrain’s maritime industry.  We are excited to announce the exclusive line-up of maritime-themed activities during the last week of September in keeping with this year’s chosen theme. At GOP, our strategy is to boost Bahrain’s position as a global maritime centre, and we believe that the BMF is an excellent channel to help us achieve our strategy.”

As part of the festival, a business seminar will be held to highlight the theme of ‘Piracy-orchestrating the response’. These discussions will aim to encourage the interaction of prominent maritime industry professionals and international and regional experts, sharing knowledge and comparing industry best practice from around the world and across different sectors. The seminar will bring together government officials, senior decision makers from the shipping industry and technology suppliers, and will aim to help all stakeholders adopt a practical, comprehensive and sustainable strategy to address maritime security and best practices to counter piracy.

Following on from the success of the 2010 Bahrain Maritime Festival’s Photo Exhibition, this year’s BMF will include a Photography Contest entitled: ‘Reflections of the Two Seas’. This competition has been designed for photography enthusiasts, and will encourage them to get creative and artistic with their submitted photographs. 

This year’s BMF will also include a strong educational program, the objective of which is to create awareness and generate interest of Bahrain’s growing achievements and developments in the maritime industry among students.

The final activities for the 2011 BMF will be the BMF Kids Carnival, which will include a number of activities aimed at entertaining children, in addition to a photography exhibition that will be showcasing the winning images from the photography competition. The carnival and the exhibition will be held for  four days at Bahrain City Centre.

“The BMF was conceptualised by the GOP in 2010.  Building on last year’s success, we hope that BMF 2011 achieves an even greater impact, demonstrating that not only is Bahrain ‘business as usual’, but that we continue to excel in the vital maritime sector, with a strong focus on building the capacity of our emerging generation,” he concluded.

The United Nations (UN), via the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), initiated World Maritime Day to commemorate the international maritime industry’s contribution towards the global economy, specifically in the shipping and logistics sectors. The GOP joins many countries worldwide, including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States to observe World Maritime Day. The event’s date varies by year and country but it is always celebrated during the last week of September.

Major companies and media partners have come forward as sponsors to support and be a part of BMF 2011 activities to mark the World Maritime Day, details of which will be announced shortly.