Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA), along with Dubai Customs, recently organised a ‘Fire and Safety Awareness’ training for crew members of dhow boats
The session was held to help raise awareness about fire and safety – aiming to reduce the number of untoward incidents within Dubai’s territorial waters and enhance the safety of the local maritime sector in line with Dubai’s Maritime Sector Strategy while also improving the performance, safety, efficiency and competitiveness of the local maritime segment, which is expected to leave great impact on reinforcing Dubai’s status as a first-class international maritime hub.
The training session, conducted at the Dubai Customs headquarters at Khor Dubai, 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. 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.
Capt 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.
“In line with this, the Dubai Maritime Training Centre recently conducted the training, which covered a range of topics including general safety guidelines, fire prevention, controlling fire, and first aid. 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.”
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 gave the attendees the know-how on constant vigilance, fire patrol, efficient watch keeping and maintenance of fire equipment on board.
