Saudi Aramco's Shipping Affiliate joins global alliance for

London, April 04, SPA -- Vela International Marine Ltd, the shipping
arm of Saudi Aramco, has been invited by the International Maritime
Organization (IMO) and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to
join an industry task force, the Global Industry Alliance (GIA), to
help promote marine bio-safety initiatives and ballast-water
management.


An inauguration ceremony was held recently at the IMO offices in
London, where IMO Secretary General Efthimios Mitropoulos officially
launched the GIA and presented Memorandum-of-Understanding (MoU)
documents.


“The Global Industry Alliance will see leading shipping companies
and international organizations working together within the
GloBallast Partnerships Project to promote ballast-water management
and marine bio-security initiatives,” said Mitropoulos.


“What is extremely pleasing,” he added, “is that some of the world’s
leading maritime companies — companies that have always taken a
proactive approach to marine environmental issues and to the
development of innovative and appropriate solutions — are teaming up
with us to take the project forward. Their collaboration is a
guarantee of success, not least because of the strong message this
collaboration sends that, together, we can create a far broader
awareness that a healthy and successful shipping industry has
ramifications that reach far beyond the industry itself.”

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