Captain Hussein Shafeeg was today appointed as the Managing Director of Maldives Ports Limited (MPL).
In a post on social media, the Privatisation and Corporatisation Board (PCB) announced that Shafeeg (National ID No. RS 2861) has been appointed as a Board Member, CEO, and Managing Director of MPL. Captain Shafeeg is an experienced master mariner with more than 35 years of work in maritime-related fields, including over 10 years serving as a captain on international voyages. He holds a Master Mariner Certificate of Competency (Unlimited) and an Advanced Diploma in Maritime Science.
For many years, he has served as captain of various large vessels, including bulk carriers, general cargo ships, and heavy lift vessels. During the COVID-19 period, he worked for seven months as the first Maldivian captain of MTCC’s dredger “Mahaa Jarraafu.” In addition to serving as Master, he has held the positions of Chief Officer, Second Officer, and Third Officer at various companies. He has long-standing experience in training crew and overseeing vessel safety.
Shafeeg was appointed as MPL’s MD following the resignation of the previous occupant of the post, Mohamed Rishwan, on the 6th of this month. Rishwan was the second individual to hold the position of MPL Managing Director under the current administration. He was appointed to the post after the dismissal of his predecessor, Mohamed Wajeeh Ibrahim.
This new appointment — the third CEO during President Muizzu’s term — comes at a precarious moment for the ports operator, amid widely reported cargo-clearing delays at Malé Commercial Harbour. The bottlenecks reflect a structural mismatch between demand and capacity: container handling volumes have risen steadily over nearly three decades without a commensurate expansion in port infrastructure, container storage yard capacity, or investment in vessel handling capability.
The operational impact has been pronounced. Vessel turnaround time, which averages between 5 and 7 days annually, has extended to more than 15 days over the past several weeks. Beyond the systemic demand growth, the situation has been compounded by the Middle East conflict, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and a mounting backlog of transshipment containers awaiting feedering from Colombo Port to Malé. According to multiple published reports, while MPL can service vessels carrying approximately 500 to 700 containers without material delay, efforts to clear the backlog have necessitated the deployment of larger vessels, with individual calls now exceeding 900 to 1,000 TEUs per voyage.
Absent the infrastructure required to process cargo at this scale, vessels are queuing in the anchorage zone awaiting servicing. The downstream effects are beginning to be felt across the economy, with businesses reporting stock-outs and inflationary pressures gradually building momentum.
To address these constraints, President Muizzu has pledged to relocate the current Malé Commercial Harbour to a newly equipped and developed container handling facility in Thilafushi, which is slated to become operational by November 2027.
