Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA), the government authority charged with regulating Dubai's maritime sector, in coordination with Dubai Customs recently organised a ‘Fire and Safety Awareness’ training session, in Dubai, UAE.

The session was held in order to help raise awareness among crew members of dhow boats about fire and safety procedures — aiming to reduce the number of incidents within Dubai’s territorial waters and enhance the safety of the local maritime sector in line with Dubai’s Maritime Sector Strategy.

The session was conducted at the Dubai Customs headquarters at Khor Dubai.

The programme is also expected to improve the performance, safety, efficiency and competitiveness of the local maritime segment, which is projected to leave great impact on reinforcing Dubai's status as a first-class international maritime hub.

The training elaborated on the ways to maintain safety in dhows and provided detailed explanations on the general principles of firefighting, including protective measures, fire prevention, and firefighting methods.

The ‘Dhow Boat Fire Awareness’ training was held in response to recent fire incidents involving dhows and boats in Dubai’s territorial waters. The workshop enlightened attendees on how constant vigilance, fire patrol, efficient watch keeping, and maintenance of fire equipment can help in preventing and combating fire on board.

Dhow crew members were also advised to adopt safe working practices such as not smoking, good housekeeping, and cleanliness as well as encouraged to adhere to other warnings to avoid the risk of fire on board.

Captain Khamis Weld Gmeel, senior manager, marine traffic operations, Dubai Maritime City Authority, said: “The safety of dhows, crew members, and passengers remains one of our highest priorities and we are focused on ensuring their well-being by minimising the incidents of on-board fires.”

“The meeting, which was held in collaboration with Dubai Customs, demonstrates our tireless efforts to improve the capacity of human resources in order to keep up with the latest developments, innovations and concepts related to maritime safety—falling in line with the emirate’s maritime strategy and part of the continuing efforts to create a sustainable, safe and integrated maritime sector that is capable of spurring economic growth in Dubai,” he said.

“We are pleased by the enthusiastic response of the participants to the initiative as we continue to plan and organise many more informative and interactive safety awareness campaigns among dhow owners and their crews to enhance safety in Dubai’s maritime sector,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service