About

About

Marine sciences have become one of the most important applied sciences because they study the seas and oceans that cover 71% of the Earth’s surface, and their exploration and scientific exploitation cannot be ignored. The world faces a shortage of protein-rich food, especially in developing countries, and the seas represent a steady source to secure this food by searching for new fishing grounds and developing fisheries technologies. Large areas of the continents also suffer from water scarcity due to the uneven distribution of resources and desert regions, which is why desalination of seawater—making use of the 97% of the planet’s water that is saline—is so important. Terrestrial mineral and energy resources have begun to decline, while the seas hold an approximately stable reserve of minerals and offer opportunities to extract energy from waves, tides, and temperature differences. Therefore investments in marine science research to explore and exploit its living and nonliving resources are increasing, and from this standpoint the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia seeks to utilize its marine resources in the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf to secure protein food, fresh water, and minerals. King Abdul-Aziz University considered these issues, and established in 1395 AH a section of Oceanography related to the Faculty of Science. The course study was initially limited to marine biology as a major at the undergraduate level. But the study of marine science cannot be restricted to one major: Oceanography majors complete one another. Therefore, a decision by the Supreme Council of the University (No. 2, dated 06/07/1398 AH) was issued to establish the Institute of Marine Sciences with four specialized sections related to Oceanography: Vital, Physical, Chemical, and Geological Oceanography. The Institute was assigned the roles of teaching and scientific research. Later, the Institute became the Faculty of Marine Sciences by a decision of the Supreme Council of the University dated 18/04/1401 AH (22/02/1981 A.D.). In addition to the aforementioned majors, the shipping industry has evolved, and the majors have become intertwined, so that marine science and the shipping industry are linked with each other. The result was that the faculty has established the Marine Studies Department, which comprises three divisions: the Division of Navigation and Marine Area; the Division of Marine Engineering; and the Division of Sea Ports and Marine Shipping. The important majors of marine sciences and marine shipping are thus seen to complement each other. The approval for this step by the University’s Supreme Council was given in its third meeting held on 12/28/1411A H (10/07/1991 A.D.), in its decision No. 8, and was referred to in a Note (No. 5724/200 dated 13/01/1412 AH) by the Secretary-General of the University’s Council.