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19 March 2024

Dubai bans 'silent' boats after sunset

Published
By Wam

Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA), the government authority charged with regulating, coordinating and supervising all aspects of the maritime sector in Dubai, has banned all engineless recreational marine crafts including kayaks, canoes, sailboats and rowing boats in Dubai’s  territorial waters after sunset.

The move is aimed at maintaining a high level of marine safety and ensuring a safe environment for sea-goers, practitioners of water sports, as well as users of recreational marine crafts, said the DMCA in a circular.

It is in line with DMCA’s strategy of adopting the best maritime practices to create a safe and sustainable marine environment that supports government efforts to establish Dubai as a global leading maritime hub.

Aside from restricting the time recreational marine crafts can ply local waters, the DMCA has also ordered seafarers to wear lifejackets to ensure their own safety, it stated.

"The latest decision to ban engineless recreational marine crafts after sunset comes in line with DMCA’s strategy to regulate maritime operations and water sports in Dubai according to the best international standards," Ali Al Dabbous, Executive Director of Operations, DMCA, said.

"The new policies are issued to reduce human and material risks and ensure the highest levels of safety to ultimately create a vibrant and safe maritime environment," he noted.

"DMCA implements an integrated plan to raise awareness about the best practices that needs to be adopted to prevent accidents, while encouraging water sports enthusiasts to be responsible for their own wellbeing by following simple steps that ensure the highest standards of personal safety," remarked Ali.