KUWAIT: The 24th annual Pearl Diving Trip kicks off this morning at 8:30 am with the traditional 'Al-Dasha' ceremony on the shore of the Kuwait Sea Sport Club. The opening ceremony is to be attended by Minister of Communications and acting Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Salem Al-Othainah, on behalf of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.
The trip concludes on Aug 30 and features at least 160 divers and 9 diving ships presented by HH the Amir, as well as the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah.
Following the official procedures during which the divers greet the Amir's representative and their family members, the divers will embark to the diving locations in Khairan to start diving for pearl oysters.
"The Pearl Diving Trip continues to be a national event that represents the pinnacle of activities that shed light on the sea heritage on the local and Gulf scenes", said KSSC Vice President Ahmad Al-Ghanim in a statement yesterday. Head of the club's sea heritage committee Ali Al-Qabandi announced in the meantime that full preparations are underway for today.
In the meantime, Vice President of the Sea Culture Committee at the KSSC, Mohammad Al-Farisi, announced the names for the diving ships "which are named after traditional Kuwaiti diving ships, as well as common Kuwaiti places and landmarks, in addition to sponsors". Furthermore, one ship will be named 'Bahrain' after Bahraini captain Abdurrahman Al-Mana'ei who will be leading the ship that carries divers from the Kingdom of Bahrain.
In addition, Al-Farisi announced that divers' groups will be named after former Kuwaiti captains, late Kuwaiti figures, as well as sponsors, adding that one group will be named after late Kuwaiti footballer Sameer Saied.
According to Al-Farisi, the ships names are as follows:
- The Dar Salwa Shou'ei Ship carrying the Helal Fajhan Al-Mutairi group and led by captain Khalid Al-Sabah, assistants Masoud Al-Mutairi and Meshal Saadoun, and chief sailor Nasser Al-Thufairi.
- The Al-Seif Palace Shou'ei Ship carrying the late Sameer Saied group and led by captain Thuwaini Al-Thuwaini, assistants Ali Al-Shuwaired and Mohammad Hajji, and chief sailor Mohammad Al-Dhubaibi.
- The Kuwait Finance House Jalbout Ship carrying the KFH group and led by captain Saad Al-Kandari, assistants Fahad Al-Hamli and Hamad Al-Gharbi, and chief sailor Fahad Al-Failakawi.
- The Gulf Bank Boom Ship carrying the Gulf Bank group and led by captain Ali Al-Mubarak, assistants Abdurrahman Al-Basheer and Yousuf Bushehri, and chief sailor Ali Dashty.
- The Bahrain Sanbouk Ship carrying the Bahraini sailor Salem al-Allan group and led by captain Avdyrrahman Al-Mana'ei from Bahrain, in addition to Kuwaiti captain Fahad Al-Kandari, and assistant Abdullatif Al-Qaqoub, and chief sailors Hamad Al-Houti and Abdul-Aziz Al-Shatti.
- The Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science (KFAS) Shou'ei Ship, carrying the KFAD group and led by captain Saleh Al-Awadhi, assistant Ahmad Assad, and chief sailors Khalifa Al-Jeemaz and Adnan Ashkenani.
- The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) Sanbouk Ship carrying the KPC group and led by captains Adnan Al-Rashid and Abdulwahab Al-Hamli, in addition to assistant Omar Al-Noaimi and chief sailors Mushari Al-Qattan and Saad Al-Jerri.
- The Dasman Shou'ei Ship carrying the Rashid bin Saleh Al-Jeemaz group and led by captains Mohammad Al-Saied and Ghanim Al-Qallaf, assistant Ali Al-kandari, and chief sailor Abdurrahman Al-Khadhar and Essa Al-Failakawi.
- Al-Misseelah Sanbouk Ship carrying the Ahmad Ma'youf Al-Basharah group and led by captains Ahmad Rajab and Abdul-Aziz Al-Hamli, assistant Faisal Saadoun, and chief sailors Yousuf Al-Failakawi and Ahmad Al-Shemmary.
The trip this year features participation of the Kuwait Amateur Radio Society for the first time, whose members will accompany the diving ships to the pearl diving locations in Al-Khairan. As happens every year, the Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources will take part in the trip as part of their continued studies to rehabilitate pearl locations in Kuwaiti waters.
© Kuwait Times 2012
