DMCA to develop strategy for marine licensing
In the next five years from now more than 50,000 boats can be sighted along the coasts of Dubai a leading industry expert said. The emirates boasts a series of mega developments, which are at various stages of construction - like the trilogy of Palms, The World, Waterfront, The Universe and several other projects. "If you look at the existing developments, you will find that most of them are waterfront developments. All these will see a lot of boats of various categories ranging from luxury boats, water taxis, yachts to catamarans," Nawfal Al Jourani, chief marketing officer of Dubai Maritime City, told The Business Weekly.
The Dubai Maritime City, the world's first purpose-built maritime centre, will be in the forefront to develop strategies and regulations for security and marine safety, training and registration of maritime boats and issuing marine driving licences. The Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA) had discussions with Dubai Police of Preventive Security,
Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), and the Dubai Economic Department (DED) relating to the preparation of maritime laws, licensing of boats and registrations in Dubai, which are under the direct responsibility of DMCA.
The authority, under its newly launched entity 'Raseina', underscored its commitment to cooperate with Dubai Police and also announced that new measures and regulations will be announced in September to further improving the maritime sector. All these initiatives and services are in line with DMCA's objective of expediting and streamlining the registration and licensing processes in the UAE maritime sector.
Tourism activities
Al Jourani said that the DMCA will be offering registration and licensing activities within Dubai and has also signed up an agreement with the DTCM. "This enables us to handle registration and licensing of all maritime tourism activities within Dubai," he added.
The move is part of a series of initiatives aimed at consolidating the emirate's maritime industry by providing a centralised point of access for all maritime-related activities in Dubai. Under the terms of the agreement, DMCA will regulate maritime tourism businesses in Dubai including floating hotels, tour operators, floating restaurants, yacht rentals and leisure boat trips. This is an important step aimed at realizing the ultimate goal of transforming
Dubai into a world-class maritime hub and making it a premier model of maritime excellence and a vital link in the global maritime network.
By Vinod Kumar PK
© The Business Weekly 2008
