Dubai Customs kicked off its program of activities as part of the 4^th UAE Customs Week 2021 running from January 24-28 under the theme, ‘Dubai Customs: Sustainable Operations’. A virtual opening ceremony was held with the presence of Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman and CEO of DP World Group and Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC); Dr.Kunio Mikuriya, Secretary General of the World Customs Organization, Ahmed Abdullah Bin Lahej, Director General of the Federal Customs Authority; Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director General of Dubai Customs; Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Chairman of Ajman Ports and Customs Department; Mohammed Mir Abdul Rahman Al Sarah, Director General of Sharjah Seaports and Customs Department; alongside officials from the Abu Dhabi General Administration of Customs and other local customs administrations, and delegates from Saudi and Bahraini Customs  as well as the WCO’s Regional Intelligence Liaison Office (RILO). 

Further to our previous advice issued in December 2019 SENASA Resolution 764/2020 was finally published in the Official Gazette on 14th October 2020 and entered into force 90 days after this on 12 January 2021.

The World Bank joined with the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) calling for efforts to accelerate the digitalization of the global maritime industry. Hosting a webinar to launch their new report on digitalization, the organizations expressed their belief that digitalizing the sector would bring wide-ranging economic benefits and contribute to a stronger, more sustainable recovery.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is reinforcing its commitment to sustainable development in global post-Covid economic recovery according to His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and UAE’s special envoy for Climate Change and Chairman of Masdar.

DSME is following in the footsteps of its compatriots at Samsung Heavy Industries in the development of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology for auxiliary power.

The companies Vattenfall, Shell, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Hamburg’s municipal heat supplier Hamburg Wärme are planning to build one of the world’s largest electrolysers in the Port of Hamburg. The new electrolyser is to have a capacity of 100 megawatts and be built on the site of the former Moorburg coal-fired power plant. The four companies have now signed a Letter of Intent to this end.

The crew of a  bulk carrier abandoned by its owner and flag state is staging a hunger strike to call attention to their plight according to the International Transport Workers’ Federation. Desperate to get their back wages and return home the crew turned to this drastic action.