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Under the patronage of  HRH Prince Khalid Al-Faisal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Governor of Makkah Al-Mukarramah region, King Abdulaziz University organized the 2008 World Maritime Day and the graduation ceremony of students of KAU Marine Studies Department on 22 Shawwal 1429 at the Ceremony and Conference Hall at 1.00 a.m.
HE Jubara Bin Eid Al-Suraisri, Minister of Transport, HE Prof Usamah Bin Sadiq Tayeb, KAU President, KAU Vice Presidents, Deans of Faculties, academic staff and the graduating students attended the ceremony.
At the opening of the ceremony, the Saudi national anthem was played and verses from the Holy Qur'an were recited.
After that, Mr Abdul-Rahman Saeed Abu Milha, Ministry of Transport Undersecretary for Transport and Shipping, delivered a speech in which he welcomed and thanked the guests for taking part and pointed out the important local and international role of shipping.
Then HE Prof Usamah Bin Sadiq Tayeb, KAU President, delivered a speech in which he said "as we are now marking the 2008 Maritime Day, we should work to develop our skills and to invest into the sea by developing human abilities, expanding the shipping industry and water desalination technology, curbing the global warming, making use of the beauty of coral reefs to breathe life into tourism and to encourage maritime research. Today, we also celebrate the graduation of the first batch of marine sciences' students, who will be real contributors to their specialty. The University has exerted great efforts to qualify and prepare them; especially that they are the first batch of the KAU Marine Sciences Department, which has recently been introduced. I do congratulate the students' parents, families, myself and the KAU administration for this great achievement of qualifying Saudi cadres in the field of marine studies. I also whisper into our students' ears to have confidence in their skills, benefit from their predecessors in this field and to continue training to achieve more".
After that, HE Jubara Al-Sureiri, Minister of Transport, delivered a speech in which he said "the World Maritime Day is a day that all member states of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) use to organize some activities, each within its own territories, to raise their peoples' awareness of the importance of shipping, its role in human life and the IMO's efforts to achieve that".
KSA's annual celebration of the World Maritime Day is part of its streneous efforts within the IMO as to facilitate shipping, care for its cadres and to contribute to the safety and security of mankind.
2008 has witnessed some important occasions in the IMO's history; 6th of March marked the 60th anniversary of adopting the IMO's Convention in Geneva in 1948 under the auspices of the United Nations; 17th of March marked the 50th anniversary of brining the Convention into force; June of this year, however, witnessed the 100th session of the Organization's Excusive Board of Directors. The IMO's banner of celebration this year is "60 Years of Shipping Service".
During the ceremony, the graduating students paraded through before a speech by HRH Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, patron of the occasion, was delivered.
Prince Al-Faisal said "I am delighted to be here with you to inaugurate the celebrations of the 2008 World Maritime Day organized by the Ministry of Transport in partnership with the University of King Abdulaziz and the participation of some government and private sector companies and maritime organizations. The aim of celebrating this occasion is to put into practice the IMO's decisions to the benefit of shipping industry. The KSA's celebration of the World Maritime Day under the banner of "60 years of Shipping Service" is a confirmation of its keenness to make use of its geographical characteristics- having stretched coastal borders along the Red Sea and the Arab Gulf- to fulfill its responsibilities towards pilgrims".
After his speech, HRH Prince Khalid Al-Faisal honoured the distinguished students and the organizers of the party before HE the Minister of Transport and HE the KAU President distributed memorial shields.
The ceremony was sealed off by playing the Saudi national anthem.
On the other hand, a symposium in commemoration of the World Maritime Day was held today morning. Dr Mohamed Salih Hariri, Dean of the Faculty of Marine Sciences opened the symposium with a speech, in which he welcomed the guests. Each session of the symposium comprised a number of papers.
1st Session:
President: Mr Sahir Bin Musa Tahlawi, Director General of Jeddah Islamic Port.
Deputy: Captain Hassan Abdul-Karim Al-Sulai, Commander of the Jeddah Coast Guard Institute.
Papers presented:
• "King Abdulaziz University and the Shipping Industry" by Dr Salim Bin Marzooq Al-Harbi, Head of Marine Sciences Department, College of Marine Sciences.
• "Saudi Aramco Harbor Pilot Training and Certification Progr Captain, Salah S. Al Ghamdi) Saudi Aramco, Terminal Pilotage Operation Division".
• "Efforts of the Marine Forces to Qualify Saudi Shipping Cadres", by Major Abdullah Bin Mohamed Al-Aseeri, Marine Forces Schools in Jeddah.
2nd Session:
President: Mr Talal Bakheit, Villa Maritime.
Deputy: Commodore Mohamed Bin Hassan Al-Amri, Commander of the Operation School.
Papers presented:
• "Efforts of the Saudi Ports Authority to Qualify Saudi Cadres", by Rear Admiral Ahmed Abu Basha, Director of the Ports' Academy of Science and Technology, Dammam.
• "Efforts of Border Guard to qualify Saudi Shipping cadres", by Captain Hassan Abdul-Karim Al-Sulai, Director of the Saudi Border Guard Institute.
• The National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (NSCA) Fahad Al-Jaloud (Manager, HRM-NSCSA)
Other Papers:
• "Development of Maritime Education and Training MET in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia", by Captain Mahmoud Al-Bawab, King Abdulaziz University, Faculty of Marine sciences – Maritime Studies Department.
• "Efforts of Aramco and Villa Maritime to Qualify Saudi Shipping Cadres", by Mr Abdul-Rahman Bin Mohamed Abdul Karim, Companies' Affairs Advisor, Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.
This was announced by Dr Haitham Bin Ahmed Zaka'ee, Supervisor General of Public Relations and Media.
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