Cargo dhows will not be phased out

Wooden cargo dhows, the traditional mainstay of regional sea trade, cannot be phased out and there are no efforts to do, say officials.

They were responding to shipping industry reports that governments in the region are expected to phase out wooden cargo dhows in compliance with the International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) current regulations.

Industry sources said IMO regulations stem from safety issues mainly on concerns that dhows are manned by crews who do not have the required certified maritime training and that most of the vessels do not have sophisticated navigation equipment.

IMO is a United Nations body for improving maritime safety and preventing pollution from ships.

Regional authorities believe the answer is in helping dhows meet the safety concerns and not phasing them out.

"We cannot and will not phase them out. In fact, we want to encourage the movement and bring in regulations to protect and encourage the trade. We have to formalise and streamline documentation procedures," said Jamal Majid Bin Theniyah, chief executive officer of the Dubai Ports Authority.

"The dhow trade has traditionally been a regional one serving the Gulf ports, Iran, Iraq, India and Pakistan. In the last 30 years it has extended up to East Africa," said Theniyah.

"Some of the ports in these areas still suffer from shallow depths, so vessels using them have to be smaller than even feeder vessels. Therefore dhows fill a critical need," he said.

Replacement of wooden dhows in the region could create an estimated $4.5 billion (Dh16.56 billion) market for small steel hulled cargo vessels, say industry analysts.

"Dhows, though cheap compared to steel vessels, will have to make way for steel vessels in the near future because they neither have navigation equipment nor come under rules and regulations. Iran has already started the move," said P. Chak-rabarty, deputy general manager of Chowgule and Company Ltd, an Indian shipbuilder, while participating in a trade show in Sharjah.

"In the Middle East there are plenty of wooden dhows, each with a capacity of between 300 and 2,000 tonnes. They transport about 1.5 million tonnes of cargo," he said.

According to rough estimates the region will need at least 1,500 barges to replace the dhows in the years to come, he said.