It is understood that the Federal Republic of Germany is showing interest in Aden port development.

Reported by the Port of Aden’s news service on 5 February we learn that visitors from the German Embassy in Yemen, the German Foreign Office, the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the German Development Bank (KfW) paid a visit to the Aden Port Control Tower at the Marine Department to see the newly-installed Vessel Traffic Management Information System (VTMIS), funded by UNDP, and to learn about the benefits this system added to the port. 

Deputy Executive Chairman of the port Eng  Abdulrab Al-Khulaqui briefed the guests of the port on the importance of the VTMIS, highlighting  improvement to ships’ navigational safety and port security.

Captain Taha Wagdi explained the components of the VTMIS and the much greater control of activities in the harbour area that the new system can provide. The delegation also studied the issue of pollution, risk posed by aging tankers at the port and progress made to deter their effects on navigational safety and marine pollution.

Mark Aiken (UNDP Yemen – Project Manager – Senior Peacebuilding and International Development Programme) contributed to the discussion, highlighting the importance of maritime domain awareness and governance and the work of UNDP in the port in these aspects. UNDP is also helping the Maritime Affairs Authority (MAA), the Yemen Coast Guard and taking part in establishing the Regional Maritime Information Sharing Centre (ReMISC) in Aden.

Aden’s  Harbour Master Captain Shakib and his Deputy Captain Waddah Qubati then invited the delegation for a boat tour of the harbour, which allowed guests to see port facilities from seaward.

Captain Yeslam Mubarak (Deputy Executive Chairman MAA) and Eng Faisal Mohammed Mareai (Advisor, MAA Executive Chairman) and Captain Mohammed Al-Maqtari (Marine Superintendent Aden Oil Harbour) attended the meeting and contributed to the discussion on port affairs.