Survey says: More rules and regulations needed for Arabian Gulf pleasure boat market
By IBI Magazine
A survey released from the third annual Gulf Boating Conference, held during the Dubai boat show, called for the tightening of rules and regulations on the 35,000 recreational craft plying the waters of the Arabian Gulf. The new initiatives, according to a statement released from the conference, include the tightening of boat registrations, greater attention to detail on the region's sea and harbour charts, and clearer multi-lingual signs and documents of where leisure craft can go. "There has been a dramatic increase in boats of all sizes on the region's seas, but all too often the current rules and regulations are not understood or adhered to," said Dr Mohammed Hamdan, chairman of the 3rd Gulf Boating Conference, in his presentation. "In many cases some of the most basic 'rules of the road' are not written down which causes difficulties for coastguard and harbour authorities as well as private yachtsmen." Following the presentation by the Arab Marine Industries Association, there was an open forum with an international panel of experts to discuss, 'Leisure Boating in the Gulf, can it be made user friendly?' The conference took place on Wednesday and Thursday, and was entitled "The Expanding Regional Market." Other discussions included 'Islamic Financing for Yachts and Boats". Local and international banks have created a range of financing options for potential boat owners, conference attendees were informed, with packages often copying those available in mature markets such as Canada, Hong Kong and the USA. Other topics included an update on the Bahraini market by Isa Kooheji, Director for Kooheji Marine Bahrain, and 'Building a distribution network in the Middle East' by Andrew Wagner, General Manager of Al Masaood in Abu Dhabi. There was also a seminar on superyacht security at the conference. A presentation on the Indian leisure boating market and its links with Dubai and the Gulf States was also given by Gautama Dutta of Mumbai-based Marine Solutions.
(16 March 2007)
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