Drydocks World, a leading provider of global maritime services, celebrated two major events last week – the completion of its 20,000th project, coinciding with the company’s 40th anniversary.

The DP World company, headquartered in Dubai, has grown exponentially over the last 40 years and has completed a host of projects for marine and energy customers across the world.

At a gala dinner celebrating 40 years of excellence, Drydocks World revealed its key milestones, including 10,000 ship repair, maintenance and upgrade projects, and 9,000 global offshore and onshore service projects.

Adding Drydocks World’s work on conversion, fabrication, drilling, rig, reactivation, life-extension and refit projects, the total comes to 20,000 completed projects.

Guests attending the gala dinner at the Madinat Jumeirah included Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman and Group CEO of DP World, who delivered a keynote address to key customers, partners, and employees.

“Drydocks World’s evolution over the past 40 years is a testament to the strength of the brand, its people and the commitment so many have shown over the past four decades. Of course, I am proud of Drydocks World as a member of the DP World family but it also goes to show how influential brands from the UAE can be on a global platform and especially in a competitive sector as the maritime industry,” Sultan bin Sulayem said.

Drydocks World CEO, Capt. Rado Antolovic, PhD, added, “Drydocks World is steadfast in its commitment to being at the forefront of the maritime industry. After 40 years of leveraging our unparalleled resources, access, location, and skillsets, we have made the UAE a focal point for the global maritime industry attracting customers from all four corners of the world. Drydocks World, with the support of DP World, has helped to put Dubai at the centre of the maritime services world.”

Drydocks World’s 40th anniversary was an opportunity to reflect on the evolution of the company to becoming a prominent player in the maritime industry. Established in April 1983 by the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Drydocks World was founded with a vision to become a leading global provider of maritime services.

Since then, Drydocks World has become a beacon for the entire Gulf region, inspiring the maritime industry’s growth across the Arabian Peninsula. Since its inception, Drydocks World has achieved numerous milestones. Initially focused on ship repair and maintenance, the company expanded its offerings in 1994 to include new building and fabrication of marine vessels. Subsequently, conversion capabilities for the energy industry were introduced in 1996, which were further expanded in 2004 to cater to offshore energy customers.

Drydocks World continues to rapidly evolve its business offering, with the addition of comprehensive engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services. Drydocks World is also expanding its facilities in Dubai with the new South Yard development providing dedicated fabrication facilities. And with a newly established presence in Mumbai, India, and in the Mediterranean, Drydocks World is on course for a new chapter in its successful story.

Marking the World Environment Day, dnata, a leading global air and travel services provider, continues its efforts to meet its pledge of reducing its carbon footprint and waste to landfill by 20 percent by 2024 as part of its two-year green operations strategy.

The company’s recent key initiatives include continued significant investment in infrastructure, green ground support solutions and process improvement.

Held annually on June 5th, World Environment Day brings together millions of people to celebrate environmental action and inspire governments, businesses and individuals to create a more sustainable world.

In June 2022, dnata announced that it would invest US$100 million in green operations in two years to further enhance its global environmental efficiency globally.

Steve Allen, CEO of dnata Group, said, “We are proud to have made significant progress on improving our environmental performance since the announcement of our strategic objectives. I thank each member of our team for their hard work and contribution to our green initiatives that help us make a difference across our global operations.

“We will continue our investments and efforts alongside our partners to further reduce our environmental footprint,” he added.

Investing in renewable energy
As part of its efforts to further improve global resource efficiency, dnata has continued to make significant investments in renewable energy. This includes the installation of rooftop solar power systems across its existing facilities.

dnata has installed solar panels at its operating facilities in Singapore, and at its SnapFresh facility in Australia. These generate over 4,300 MWh of renewable electricity annually, saving approximately 1.85 million kilogrammes of carbon dioxide emissions. Phase 1 of a solar PV panel installation in Pakistan also commenced, which is expected to generate 244,000 kWh per annum. Furthermore, all electricity purchased in the UK and Ireland is from renewables from local grids.

Conserving water
In addition to solar power, dnata is investing in systems to collect and re-use condensate from air conditioning units and rainwater at both of its existing and new facilities. These initiatives optimise water usage and associated costs.

dnata’s new 20,000m2 cargo facility in Iraq, which will begin operations in 2024, will include environmentally sustainable features including a rooftop rainwater harvesting system. This will capture, treat and store rainwater in underground tanks, feeding irrigation systems within the facility as well as for potable uses, achieving a 50 percent saving on water costs by 2025. The system has also been configured in the Philippines using the same technology, but to collect and recycle rainwater for drinking and washing purposes. This technology will also shortly be implemented at dnata’s Singapore facilities.

With the UAE’s dry climate, dnata has installed a Reverse Osmosis Plant to re-use condensate water from the cooling systems in its cargo warehouses in Dubai. This has resulted in 5,000 litres of water per day being reused for washing and cleaning.

dnata also launched a bottle-free drinking water system at its Corporate Headquarters, dnata Travel Centre and Alpha catering facilities, which will reduce plastic consumption and conserve over 95,000 litres of bottled water per year.

Transforming GSE fleet and using biofuels
dnata continues to invest in the electrification of its ground handling fleet, and the use of biofuels where feasible, to reduce emissions. More than 15 percent of the company’s global fleet is now electrified. dnata is continuing to support its global airport partners to prepare the infrastructure for further electrification.

dnata understands that electrification is not the only solution to its ground handling fleet strategy. It carefully considers airports’ climatic conditions and available infrastructure, and invests in a mix of equipment types, including biodiesel, electric, hydrogen and hybrid to maximise environmental and operational efficiency globally.

As part of the crucial role that it plays during busy winter operations in Switzerland, dnata added five new hybrid de-icing trucks to its ground support equipment (GSE) fleet in 2022. This increased the number of electric GSE in its operations in the country to 35 percent. In The Netherlands, dnata switched to 100 percent biofuel for all its legacy GSE fleet in January 2023, marking another milestone in its sustainable journey in Amsterdam, where 55 percent of its fleet is electric.

Reducing waste to landfill
In order to reduce its carbon footprint in ways other than emissions, dnata is determined to reduce waste to landfill, and is collaborating with industry leaders and policymakers on the treatment of international catering waste. In close co-ordination with the airport community to enhance the segregation and retrieval of recyclables airside, dnata is targeting a 20 percent diversion of waste from landfill by 2024. In addition, dnata is investing in sustainable solutions for cargo waste materials, such as transport belts and nets that are currently destined for landfill.

dnata Catering’s retail division is also working closely with its airline partners, introducing the pre-ordering of passenger inflight meals. This cuts significant food wastage, and therefore the need for airlines to burn larger quantities of fuel to transport heavier aircraft, reducing emissions.

IATA’s IEnvA Programme
In December 2022, dnata signed up to the IATA Environmental Assessment (IEnvA) programme, based on globally recognised environmental and sustainability standards, as well as industry best practices. It is a commitment to continually improve environmental sustainability within the aviation field and is focused specifically on dnata’s core operations. These include cargo handling facilities, catering, freight forwarders, and ramp handlers. dnata is working towards full certification prior to the end of 2023.

United Nations Global Impact
dnata also joined the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), a voluntary global initiative that promotes responsible business practices, and the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals. dnata has committed to implement the Ten Principles of the UNGC in the areas of human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption. dnata will benefit from access to the UNGC’s extensive tools and resources to engage with its employees across the globe and improve their learning and training in Sustainability.

dnata is a leading global air and travel services provider. Established in 1959, the company offers quality and safe ground handling, cargo, travel, catering and retail services in 38 countries across six continents. In the financial year 2022-23, dnata’s customer-oriented teams handled over 710,000 aircraft turns, moved over 2.7 million tonnes of cargo, uplifted 111.4 million meals, and recorded a total transaction value (TTV) of travel services of US$ 1.9 billion.

The Abu Dhabi Department of Community Development, the Department of Municipalities and Transport, and the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (part of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding the implementation of the second phase of the Scan and Learn Arabic initiative, which is an application that allows smartphone and tablet users to scan objects around the city, the names of which are then translated into Arabic.

This three-year agreement serves as documentation of the efforts made by all parties in the initial MoU signed in November 2021, regarding the pilot period of the Scan and Learn Arabic mobile application as well as discussion and collaborative research into methods of promoting a more cohesive and tolerant society.

The new memorandum aims to increase the prevalence of the Arabic language in daily life in Abu Dhabi, both for speakers and non-speakers, by promoting the use of the smartphone application and its scanning technology. Objectives include preserving the Arabic language and helping to solidify national identity; increasing Arabic language usage on social media platforms and in workplaces; and increasing the learning of commonly used Arabic vocabulary among citizens, residents, and visitors in the hope that more widespread learning of the language will lead to greater social cohesion between the diverse nationalities living in the UAE.

Dr. Ali bin Tamim, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, said, “The success achieved in the initial stages of the ‘Scan and Learn Arabic’ initiative, aimed at enhancing the use of Arabic language in daily life throughout our society, has prompted the execution of its second phase.

“In an increasingly digitally focused world, we at the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre are continuously working to ensure that our programmes are innovative and keep pace with changing times. Providing mobile applications that showcase the Arabic language has become a necessity to reach wider audiences, especially young people. We are promoting the Arabic language through technology and, at the same time, promoting the use of technology in Arabic. This initiative will have a positive impact on how these generations are engaging with both digital content and the Arabic language, driving its increased future use.”

For her part, Shaikha Al Hosani, Executive Director of the Monitoring and Social Innovation Sector at the Abu Dhabi Department of Community Development, said, “The Scan and Learn Arabic initiative plays a key role in enhancing social cohesion in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and strengthening bonds, communication, and interdependence between the various communities that live here.

“It creates new opportunities for non-Arabic speakers to deepen their knowledge of the local culture and better integrate into society, by introducing them to Arabic vocabulary and the roots of local Emirati colloquialisms.”

Rashid Al Kaabi, Acting Executive Director of the Operations Support Sector at the Department of Municipalities and Transport, noted the importance of cooperation between the concerned authorities to contribute to providing tools to enhance the use of the Arabic language in various areas of daily life within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and contribute to the dissemination of a language which boasts a rich vocabulary.