Riyadh, August 19 (QNA) - The State of Qatar, represented by the Ministry of Transport, took part in the 39th meeting of the Committee of Gulf Cooperation Council Port Authorities and Maritime Administrations' Officials, held at the GCC's headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The delegation was led by Assistant Undersecretary for Maritime Transport Affairs, Eng. Abdulaziz Abdullah Al Sulaiti.
The meeting went over a range of matters relevant to boosting joint maritime action among the GCC states, including uniform terms and controls for granting operating licenses to marine vessels not covered by international maritime conventions and fostering logistical integration among these states.
In addition, the gathering addressed updating the requirements for licensing companies that inspect and survey marine vessels outside the scope of international maritime conventions, as well as studying technical alternatives to strengthen the resilience of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) services.
The meeting further mulled classifying the Arabian Gulf waters as a Same Risk Area (SRA) under the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM), and the green shipping corridors between GCC ports.
This is alongside facilitating the use of maritime transportation for navigation in territorial waters and entry into territories, establishing a marine environmental risk register, as well as studying proactive measures and solutions should restrictions be imposed on vessel traverse through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab El-Mandeb Strait. (QNA)