Abu Dhabi Ports becomes first IALA-certified organisation in the UAE

Abu Dhabi Marine Services (Safeen), the navigation and harbour services arm of ADP, has successfully delivered Aids to Navigation (AtoN) training courses to five staff and intends to offer the course to maritime and offshore service providers across the region.

Safeen’s navigation department manages 1198 buoys and beacons over 52 channels and waterways, covering a span of 472km across Abu Dhabi. It is the first entity in the UAE and just the ninth organisation globally to be certified by IALA.

Employees, including ADP’s first Emirati female worker, have received AtoN Level-2 training certificates based on IALA’s Level-2 Model Courses, the highest internationally accredited navigational standard.

The training assimilation was evaluated via written and oral examinations conducted by IALA accredited instructor, Captain AbdulAziz Al Hammadi, senior navigation service manager at Safeen.

“The accreditation our training centre received by IALA is testament to our commitment to delivering the highest quality maritime training and positions us competitively in the region,” said Hammadi.

“It has been an exciting experience having served as a certified instructor of IALA and witnessing the first Emirati woman to receive the IALA Level-2 certification in the UAE, Ms Sahar Rasti (pictured right), Safeen’s Navigation Services Coordinator, has been particularly rewarding.”

Rasti said: “I am extremely honoured to be the first woman to work in Safeen at ADP and the first to receive the IALA Level-2 certification in the UAE. Maritime is a sector commonly known to be dominated by men and it gives me great pride to demonstrate that women in the UAE are fully capable of not only working, but excelling in any field with the support of our leadership.” 

IALA, an 80-member organisation representing navigation services and interests worldwide, is currently hosting a workshop on the challenges of providing AtoN Services in extremely hot climates in association with the Qatar’s Ministry of Transport and Communications.

The workshop in Doha, which runs from 4-7 September, features tips on environmental assessment and mitigation measures including UV degradation, colour retention and lens degradation and designs for high temperature operation.