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Doha - Qatar

HE Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti, Minister of Transport and Communications (MoTC) launched 21 new electronic services to serve the maritime transport sector, particularly large vessels with a capacity of more than 200 tons, on the sidelines of the Qatar Information Technology and Communication Conference and Exhibition (QITCOM 2019), to be held until November 1st at the Qatar National Convention Center.

HE Akbar Al Baker CEO of Qatar Airways and Secretary-General of Qatar National Tourism Council attended the launch ceremony.

The new services, which are in addition to the 25 services launched in early 2019 serving small and large vessels, aim to develop the maritime transport sector. They are also designed to facilitate operations and procedures and keep pace with technological advancements through the automation of all ships services.

All new services will be made available on the ministry's portal, while the ministry's mobile app will offer only 15 of them. The various services are provided through integration with the ministry's national documentation and archiving system to ensure business procedures are facilitated and completed through the mobile app application or portal.

The new services include: The issuance of provisional registration certificate; renewal of provisional registration certificate; issuance of registration certificate; issuance of seaworthiness certificate; application of ownership transfer for vessels; issuance of certificate of deletion; issuance of specification amend certificate; application of mortgage registration; application of non-encumbrance; craft mortgage decomposition; issuance of deratting certificate; annual ship fees; certificate of report marine incident; certificate of authorization; certificate of extension; certificate of relaxation registration for vessels; exemption certificate; "To whom it may concern" certificate; certificate of safety insurance; continuous synopsis record (CSR) document; NOL for the announcement of a navigational warning; safe manning certificate and lost-damaged replacement request.

 “The launch of the new e-services is part of the Ministry's efforts to modernize and develop a maritime transport industry in support of technological development and economic diversification,” said Dr. Saleh Bin Fetais Al-Marri, Assistant Undersecretary for Maritime Transport Affairs at the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

He added: “The ministry's plans not only to support integration between the various means of maritime transport and the development of the industry's infrastructure, but also seek to make a qualitative shift in the digitization of maritime services by providing smart services and solutions to the public and leveraging modern technology to provide the best service possible. These new electronic services will enable the public to submit their applications at anytime and anywhere around the clock, saving them time and effort to reach the shipping service offices in Al Khor, Ruwais and Doha."

Ms. Mashael Ali Al Hammadi, Director of E-Government Standards Programs in charge of information systems management at the Ministry of Communications, said: "The new electronic services are part of the Ministry of Communications' efforts to implement the standards of the government system. E-Qatar, achieving the objectives of the Qatar Digital Government 2020 strategy to upgrade the level of government services provided to individuals and companies by providing all government services over the internet and ensuring the ability of the user to complete these services in full electronically, and raise the efficiency of government administrative processes through automating various functions and providing modern technological applications to government institutions, as well as realizing the ministry's vision to develop its services easily and make it available to be at hand from everywhere and at any time in order to increase the satisfaction of the beneficiaries."

The maritime transport affairs division is participating in the ministry's pavilion at QITCOM 2019 which is organized by the ministry under the title "Safe Smart Cities". The ministry and its various divisions will review the latest developments, projects and programs related to the digital transformation process. It will also showcase the latest technologies, smart solutions and opportunities to exploit this technology to serve various sectors.

Noteworthy, the maritime industry contributed in 2017 about 3.5 billion Qatari riyals to the country's GDP, indicating a 10 percent growth over a period of 5 years, according to the Planning and Statistics Authority.