Rajab Khamis was smiling as he sat in his spacious workshop with his toolbox on the table and inspected the blade on the woodcarving tool.
For the first time in eight years, the 58-year old craftsman has an order to build a boat that weighs more than 25 tonnes.
“The seven boats I am building are orders from a shipping company in Iran," said Mr Khamis, who has spent the last eight years working on smaller boats. "They are all designed to carry 200 tonnes of weight. Each boat will cost them US$650,000 (Dh2.4 million) and it will take 18 months to complete [each boat]."
Mr Khamis owns a boat yard in Sur on the eastern coast of Oman, the only region where the country's seafaring heritage endures. And he is not the only boat builder to benefit from a recent surge in demand for his skills.
About 20 kilometres away in the town of Ashkara, 64-year old Saleh Al Shahri, a veteran of 40 years in boat building, is also hard at work in his workshop. He has an order worth $20.75m from a Kuwaiti businessman to build 14 boats ranging from 150 to 500 tonnes.
“I have not built a real boat since 2007 and I am really excited to go back to the old days of building serious seafaring vessels that carry goods up to 500 tonnes. A month ago, a Qatari businessman, with another order, approached me and we are still negotiating terms. So business is looking up at the moment," Mr Shahri said.
The three-year contract has already generated more than 40 jobs for local people as well as contracts to timber suppliers, he added. Five other boatyards in the area are also enjoying a windfall.
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Read more:
My voyage of self-discovery begins with building an old-fashioned boat
UAE Portrait of a Nation: Emirati fisherman hopes to keep tradition alive
Eco-friendly engine for fishing boats
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Sur and the adjacent towns have been building boats for more than 1,000 years that sailed as far as East Africa, China and India. Sur has also supplied boats to the rest of the Gulf countries, earning the town a reputation of being a major maritime centre in the region. However, competition from modern international shipping companies in the 1970s sent the boat building trade in Sur into a rapid decline.
But what has spurred its sudden revival in the last two years? Transport experts say that with oil prices low, goods distributors in the region looking to cut costs are seeking out cheaper ways of transporting freight.
"Big ships made of steel are expensive to maintain and that makes sea freight costly when it comes to short-haul transportation over the water," Ghalib Al Siyabi, the proprietor of Sharqiyah Transportation Company based in east Oman, told The National.
"The wooden boats are low cost in both maintenance and freight cost. With low oil prices, the GCC goods distributors and Iran now find it cheaper to invest in inexpensive vessels for moving their supplies in the region.”
In February last year, boat builder Juma Mabrook put the land his business stands on up for sale. It was destined to be the site of a new shopping complex owned by a Muscat businessman. But a phone call three months later made him take down the "for sale" sign; more than a year later, the 52-year old master boat builder is carving wood for eleven boats ordered by a UAE investor based in Ras Al Khaimah. He has also taken on 18 school graduates to handle the work.
“By the grace of Allah, now I am back in business with a $7.3m order for middle-weight boats," said Mr Mabrook, his voice raised above the clamour of hammers and machinery. "I am also generating jobs and provide business to local suppliers as well.”
He lovingly caressed the hull of a half-finished boat. "This is made of solid teak imported from India. Termites don’t eat it, salt water does not degrade the structure, it never splits in the hot sun and it lives forever. We still have old boats in the museum that were built of teak wood in Sur more than a century ago," he said.
Mr Mabrook said boat builders in Sur do not need blueprints or sketches - they have it all in their heads. They use hand tools, not machinery, to curve and bend the wood for the ribs of the boats, with their workshops full of old-fashioned tools like awls, bows chisels and caulking irons. The wood is sourced from trees grown in the southern Omani city of Salalah, while the iron nails used to bolt the boats' hulls and ribs together are made by a local silversmith.
Mr Al Siyabi said it was too early to say whether the new boat building demand would last or if it was just a flash in the pan.
“But it looks promising that the good times are back for our boat builders," he said. "Why? The current economic downturn in the GCC makes the regional states increasingly rely on each other for goods supplies."
"These boats are the economical answer as a cheaper form of transportation. Sea routes are quicker than roads and there is no traffic congestion in the water. Air freight is expensive. So it looks like boat builders in the eastern region have hit the jackpot again after many decades."
Credit Score explained
What is a credit score?
In the UAE your credit score is a number generated by the Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB), which represents your credit worthiness – in other words, your risk of defaulting on any debt repayments. In this country, the number is between 300 and 900. A low score indicates a higher risk of default, while a high score indicates you are a lower risk.
Why is it important?
Financial institutions will use it to decide whether or not you are a credit risk. Those with better scores may also receive preferential interest rates or terms on products such as loans, credit cards and mortgages.
How is it calculated?
The AECB collects information on your payment behaviour from banks as well as utilitiy and telecoms providers.
How can I improve my score?
By paying your bills on time and not missing any repayments, particularly your loan, credit card and mortgage payments. It is also wise to limit the number of credit card and loan applications you make and to reduce your outstanding balances.
How do I know if my score is low or high?
By checking it. Visit one of AECB’s Customer Happiness Centres with an original and valid Emirates ID, passport copy and valid email address. Liv. customers can also access the score directly from the banking app.
How much does it cost?
A credit report costs Dh100 while a report with the score included costs Dh150. Those only wanting the credit score pay Dh60. VAT is payable on top.
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
- Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better.
- But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The specs
Engine: 2.5-litre, turbocharged 5-cylinder
Transmission: seven-speed auto
Power: 400hp
Torque: 500Nm
Price: Dh300,000 (estimate)
On sale: 2022
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Huroob Ezterari
Director: Ahmed Moussa
Starring: Ahmed El Sakka, Amir Karara, Ghada Adel and Moustafa Mohammed
Three stars
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
