The Ports, Customs, and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC) has announced a 105% growth in the number of licences issued to companies specialising in bunkering in the waters and ports of the Dubai during the first quarter of 2024, in parallel with the rise in the performance of maritime operations in general since the beginning of the year, reported Wam.

This growth in bunkering licences was mainly due to Dubai's strategic location, which has made it a prominent regional and global centre for maritime shipping, it stated.

Sheikh Saeed bin Ahmed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, Executive Director of the Dubai Maritime Authority, said that achieving these successes is due to the advantages and facilities provided by Dubai for traders and investors, including the integrated digital infrastructure that has facilitated the time and effort of customers by completing the required service operations through a single digital window.

He praised the efforts and capabilities of the Dubai Maritime Authority team to exert efforts, adapt and deal with the various challenges in the maritime sector effectively and under various circumstances.

Sheikh Saeed lauded the Authority's role in regulating and overseeing the maritime sector and maritime activities throughout the emirate.

The Authority has been keen to develop and adopt a strategy dedicated to developing and establishing maritime regulatory frameworks for the maritime sector to enable those working in this sector to practise their activities and invest in them in a manner that achieves the emirate's economic directions, he added.

Nasser Al Neyadi, CEO of PCFC affirmed that the Authority's efforts with its partners have contributed to increasing the attractiveness of Dubai's waters for maritime operations of all kinds, increasing berthing and towing operations, and increasing demand for bunkering by marine vessels in the emirate.

The new statistics announced by the Authority indicated an increase in the approval rate for berthing operations by 3.4% thus reflecting the high level of efficiency in managing ship traffic within Dubai, in addition to an increase in ship towing operations by 82%, he added.

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