UAE Economic Minister urges global response to meet maritime threats
2012 04 07
- Details
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Economic Minister Sultan bin Saeed al-Mansouri told a conference in Abu Dhabi that a global response was needed to meet threats of Iran shutting shipping lanes, piracy and volatile oil prices.
"The shipping business in general now has to address growing piracy threats. There are regional concerns too, especially those relating to the potential closure of shipping routes," Sultan bin Saeed al-Mansouri told a conference.
"These concerns have international implications and must be addressed in the spirit of cooperation and dialogue," he said, according to Reuters.
The UAE, one of the world's top oil exporters, ships crude through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has threatened to block as tensions between Tehran and the west have intensified over the last few months.
The Strait of Hormuz is patrolled by naval forces of the US, France and Britain. Mr Mansouri called for more cooperation on fighting pirates and said merchant shipping was likely to be hit by current oil price fluctuations.
Shipping accounts for 80 per cent of global trade, and sea borne trade volumes have quadrupled over the last four decades, Mr Mansouri said, adding that Abu Dhabi's new Khalifa Port would become operational in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
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