During the past two years 2021 and 2022, a number of Gulf investors in the tourism sector visited Bahrain to discuss the possibility of building traditional Bahraini ships for marine tourism projects from the most famous “shipbuilding masters”, and despite the stagnation that this industry suffers from, the shipbuilding professor Abdullah Mohammed Ali indicates that there are requests, albeit minor ones, to build ships according to lengths and specifications suitable for tourism projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the State of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Investors go to Bahrain
And “Professor” Abdullah spoke to “Al-Bilad”, which toured the shipbuilding workshops in Muharraq, pointing out that discussions were held with some investors from various Gulf countries to build ships, some of which are under planning and others are under implementation, especially what you see in front of you, the first is Banosh and the other Sambuk, and the difference between them is that the banush “has a straight front … his master,” and the sambuk is curved in front, in addition to other types that are manufactured in Bahrain at the hands of great masters, including: Muhammad Naguib Al-Taiton, Muhammad Ismail, Hassan Rahimi, Anwar, Abdullah, Jamal Nour, Jamal Shaheen and Sayed Hadi al-Abbar, and the market actually depends on the seasons, but as for the Bahraini market, the demand is low, especially since sailors use boats made of fiberglass and not wood. Different types are made such as banoush, sambuk, ling, boom, shui and jabot, each with its own specifications and design.
Construction cost and implementation period
With regard to the cost of building large ships such as Al-Banush and Al-Sambuk, he stressed that this depends on the size, length and specifications, and the cost is between 150 and 200 thousand dinars, especially for tourism use such as restaurants and cruises, and the implementation period ranges from 6 months to a year, and perhaps more according to the design, and the period varies according to The quality of the ship, its size, and the functions of its use, and despite the stagnation of the market for years, Bahrain is characterized by a historical reputation and the skill of its masters, which makes it the subject of choice for investors in tourism projects in particular.
procedures and regulations
The regulations regulate the procedures of this industry. Resolution No. “2” for the year 2021 regulates the requirements for registering service, towing, passenger and cargo ships and ships that are used for commercial purposes according to the conditions for submitting the application from the ship’s owner or his representative and completing the registration procedures, data and documents that include the certificate of origin, the date and place of the ship’s construction, In addition to the type of ship, its engine, its power, its dimensions in length, breadth and depth, its net and total tonnage, the name, title, profession, domicile and nationality of the owner or owners in common, with a statement of the share of each of them, the name of the ship’s operator, his title, profession, nationality and domicile, and the in-kind rights entailed on the ship, as the shipbuilding masters hope In directing greater attention to this industry, supporting and promoting it, as it is one of the historical industries that have distinguished the Kingdom of Bahrain since ancient times, as a study of the specialized scientific magazine “Popular Culture… The Message of Folklore from Bahrain to the World” in its seventh issue indicates that the oldest models of ships The people of Bahrain appeared on the depictions of the Dilmun seals and stone carvings, which are estimated to be more than 2000 years BC.
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