Grand masters of the Dhow

gulfnews.com | Saturday, August 18, 2012| Gulf News Gulf News | Saturday, August 18, 2012|gulfnews.com 10 NATION NATION 11 A five-year process Cargo distribution Within its three levels, the dhow will store different kinds of cargo. Huraiz Bin Touq, one of the owners, described the process that he and his team have been followed to construct the largest dhow in the UAE since 2008. The dhow is being built as a cargo boat and its base is wider. Upper level cargo In this section, second-hand cars, clothing and fabric shipments are loaded. Types of dhows 9.7m Port side view The giant dhow has a characteristic Pakistani style due to its angular shape of the bow and the cut at the stern. Middle level cargo Will be used for medium-weight cargo such as electronics and appliances. Timber beam- Lower level cargo The bottom section of the dhow will be used for the heavy cargo. 15m The average cargo capacity of modern dhows is 1,700 tonnes, the maximum load capacity of the giant dhow is Bow- Stern Stern view 1 After constructing some scale models as a reference and deciding the dhow's shape, the construction begins. Timber beams are set over the wood keel, that works as a 2,500 tonnes Wood keel 60.9m Top view spine, then,the structure is reinforced with a steel ring. At this stage the shape of the dhow is carefully measured as the symmetry must be perfect. The total weight without cargo is 900 tonnes Sambuk The largest type of dhow seen in the Arabian Gulf. It has a characteristic keel design, with a sharp curve right below the top part of the ship. equivalent to 5 blue whales of 180 tonnes each. Upper level cargo Cargo accesses Captain's cabin Crew rooms area 400 tonnes of steel made in Sharjah provide the structural strength. The route The main route will be from Dubai to Somalia to Middle level cargo o Pictures: Francois Nel/Gulf News deliver merchandise in Beaming - Huraiz Bin Toug, and his brother are building the world's largest dhow at Jaddaf port, near Festival City, in Dubai. 2 The rest of the timber beams are assembled as ribs, following the shape of the guides. The steel ring is reinforced with horizontal bars, leaving three open accesses for the cargo. Ethiopia. The journey takes about 10 days as it travels at speed of 10 to 12 knots. Boom A large sized dhow with a stern, which becomes smaller in shape towards one end. The Arab boom has a very high prow (front end of the ship) while the Indian version is much narrower. Grand masters of the dhow 1000 Km UAE -SAUDI ARABIA Arabian sea SUDAN Brothers aim to restore UAE's long and proud tradition of trading vessels Wood hull ETHIOPIA 3 When all the timber beams are in place -as ribs- the shape of the dhow is now noticeable. Another steel structure is constructed forming the upper deck, giving strength and stability to the boat. For the next stage, wood planks for the dhow's hull are fixed over the wood ribs with iron screws and nuts starting from the base of the structure. Indian DUBAI By MARIAM M. AL SERKAL Staff Reporter HUGO A. SANCHEZ 3D Modeler & Ocean retired navy man. The brothers decided to call the boat Fazza, which means one in times of need, after the nickname of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai. "I called him for permission to use the name and he was very eager to see the end result because a dhow in such a large magnitude has never been built before in the Gulf," said Al Mer- ri, who emphasised that even though the dhow will be com- pleted by September, it will take at least another four months to decorate and paint it. "I'm already making plans for the ship's inauguration and Shaikh Hamdan has con- firmed that he wants to see it, and there will certainly be a big party to celebrate the event." SOMALIA Baghlah Derived from the Arabic language word for mule. A heavy ship that was traditionally used in the deep sea. KENYA help some- Infographic Artist and DOUGLAS OKASAKI Senior Designer Cross section n an attempt to breathe life back into the dwindling dhow industry, two Emi- rati brothers have taken up the challenge to build the largest Arab dhow that serves not only to transport cargo but to act as reminder to the coun- try's deep-rooted traditions. For centuries, dhows sailed Cargo accesses 2 engines each producing 125 horsepower will power the biggest dhow in the UAE. Upper deck 4 As the work to cover the timber beams continues, more wood strips are fixed on the metal structures, forming the decks in the middle and upper level. across the Arabian and Indian seas, enabling sailors to earn their daily bread either through fishing, pearl diving or by transporting cargo mostly from the Indian sub-continent and Jahazi A fishing dhow that was commonly used in the coast of Oman, and was also used in Bahrain for the pearl industry. Dhows are not as popular as they used to be 40 years ago and there are now only four families in Dubai that build them, and my family is one of them.* Oiled wood East Africa into the Gulf States. The first setback to dhows was when the worldwide eco- nomic depression in the 1930s caused the pearling industry in the region to nosedive. But even though the local economy was able to boom again follow- ing the discovery of oil as well as with the shift in focus on the tourism industry, the use of dhows slowly lost its strong- hold in the maritime industry. "Dhows are not as popular as they used to be 40 years ago and there are now only four families in Dubai that build them, and my family is one of them," said Huraiz Bin Touq Al Merri, 39. Coming from a line of boat aficionados, Al Merri pointed out that his grandfather Mo- hammad used to build dhows, while his father was of a cargo ship and at one point used to command 100 dhows. "Although I worked in the army, building boats was a pas- Responsibility Having such a responsibil- ity of overseeing the project was no easy task and Al Merri, along with his brother, are on site everyday without fail from 6am to 12pm and 2 to 7pm to supervise the boat's 11 workers. Once the dhow is completed, Al Merri aims to use it to trans- port second-hand Japanese cars to Ethiopia via Somalia in a journey that will take about 10 days to complete as it travels at a speed of 10-12 knots. "There are at least 60 mil- lion people living in Ethiopia and that is the main route that traders are using, its either that or to go to Iran. The dhow will then stop at Somalia and trans- port the cargo by land. I am not worried at all about the ship encountering any pirates be- cause I know that the situation is exaggerated so people can claim insurance," he added. 500 tonnes of wood imported from Malaysia, Pakistan and India are used in the dhow. The long timber sections are cut at the end in diagonal angles, making the joint between them stronger. The same principle is used to construct the keel. Engines The wood used for the boat's hull is from Malaysia. More than 30 barrels of fish oil from Somalia are used as a coat on the upper half of the surface to make it closer together and prevent water from seeping inside. This method keeps the wood flexible, avoiding cracks caused by the sea's movement. Shu'ai Medium-sized dhow and used to be the most common dhow in the Arabian Gulf used for fishing, as well as for coastal trade. Huraiz Bin Touq Al Merri | Dhow builder Amazing handcraft The timber planks are cut with electrical machinery but expert carpenters are needed to handshape each wooden section to match other pieces. sion close to my heart and I have already built several mod- ern boats made of fibreglass. In 2008, the economic crisis af- fected business all around the world and construction stopped here. With this in mind, I thought that it would then be the best time to boost the local economy and build the largest dhow in the country," said Al Merri, who financed the project with several partners, includ- ing his brother Salah who is a 5 Finally, the two engines that will give the power to move this colossal boat, the captain's cabin, a small crane and a fabric cover, are installed. The giant dhow is now ready for water tests. It will take around of five months from now to tune all the details, paint and decorate it to finally start its sea voyages. 11 workers 120,000 Jelbut A small to medium-sized dhow. It is the modern version of the Shu'ai with a shorter, front section. have been working on the huge dhow. iron screws and nuts of different measures from 30 cm to 60cm or more, are used to join the timber beams of the base structure and the wood planks of the hull. Once the timber planks are set. the space between them is filled with cotton yarn and then with sealant. The holes where the iron screws are located are also sealed. captain Total cost: Dh 8 million