Dubai: Transportation and logistics firm Aramex has launched an express delivery service by boat along Dubai's coast that has helped it to beat the city's worsening traffic jams.
With the new service, the company is also testing the waters for serving Dubai's new waterfront communities in places such as the Palm Islands and The World.
Aramex is using a 26-foot speedboat to take parcels and documents between selected points, but more vessels may be deployed when residents move into several waterfront projects that are currently taking shape.
"Dubai has changed, and we are trying to change our mode of transportation to cope with the change," said Hussain Hachem, Aramex vice-president for Oman and the UAE.
"We are not in a position yet to acquire custom-built boats. We need to know the requirements first," he told Gulf News.
The company has a fleet of 30 trucks, 180 cars and 300 motorbikes to handle deliveries in the UAE.
Hachem insists the boat service is not an alternative to road transportation.
"The easiest way to reach new residential communities in New Dubai is by sea. The boat service is directly connected to our road network," he said.
The boat runs between Deira Creek and Jebel Ali. The service has been on trial for about two months now.
Aramex believes that it will have to expand the sea transport service when projects like The World, a cluster of 303 man-made islands four kilometres off Dubai, are completed.
