Abu Dhabi Ports has received the International Standard for Maritime Pilot Organisations (ISPO) certifications for its marine pilotage service at Khalifa and Zayed Port, making them the first commercial ports in the Middle East to achieve this acclaim.
The pilots working at these ports are responsible for helping the navigation of thousands of vessels every year.
As the captains of the visiting ships are not familiar with Abu Dhabi waters, marine pilots of Abu Dhabi Marine Services get on board those vessels and take over the ships’ bridge to manoeuvre the vessel safely into the port and, later on, back to sea.
The ISPO certification is a code of best practice for pilots and pilot organisations, which is implemented by a method of self-regulation.
ISPO is managed by the International User Group (IUG). It aims to make pilotage organisations more transparent and to provide a framework for providing improved services, including better communication between pilots and those who use their services.
Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Ports, said: “This commendation is a reward for Abu Dhabi Ports’ continuous efforts to live up to our established corporate values of safety and security, and quality. This is also an honour to our pilots and entire Marine Services team that have always kept the commitment to our established values.
“Along with many other recent achievements, this testimony also supports our vision of being the preferred provider of world-class integrated ports services.”
Fact File: Established in 2006, Abu Dhabi Ports’ core objective is to facilitate the diversification of the economy by stimulating trade and development. This is done by delivering high-quality maritime services, supporting partners’ infrastructure projects and setting up new companies and joint-ventures in the ports and logistics sectors.
