Boat owners urged to install e-passport.

Byline: Rayeesa Absal, Staff Reporter

Abu Dhabi: Officials have called on boat owners in the capital to install e-passports on their boats before the set deadline to avoid being penalised.

The Critical National Infrastructure Authority (CNIA), the government body in charge of the marine waters of Abu Dhabi, recently introduced the e-passport device as a safety precaution.

The device, once installed, will allow the officials to track the boat across UAE waters in case of marine emergencies.

Colonel Ishaq Mohammad Salem Al Bashir, the executive manager of operations at the CNIA, said that boat owners have until the end of the year to complete the procedure. Failure to do so will result in them being fined.

E-passports are mandatory for all fishing and sailing boats as well as commercial boats that weigh less than 300 tonnes, he said.

Colonel Al Bashir explained that the device would help emergency service personnel by providing the precise location of boats and thus allow them to render aid quickly.

He was speaking to the media at an iftar gathering organised by the CNIA yesterday for fishermen at Mina Zayed as part of the outreach of their Bihar campaign.

The campaign aims to educate beachgoers on safety precautions and the importance of complying with marine regulations.

During the campaign, the CNIA reached out to members of the fishing community and introduced CNIA officials as those in charge of the safety of the fishing community while at sea.

Hundreds of fishermen attended the iftar, where they had a one-on-one interaction with senior officials. The fishermen raised their concerns about regulations and sought clarification to allay their doubts.

"It is important for those engaged in fishing to understand the areas where it is permitted to go fishing and where it is not, so that they do not break rules unintentionally," Colonel Al Bashir said.

As the Bihar campaign draws to a close, officials spoke on its successes and said it had managed to popularise the marine emergency hotline 996.

"About 20 calls are received on the marine emergency hotline every day. The number of marine accidents and casualties are not very high since most of the calls received are related to [fishermen] running out of fuel and malfunctioning... boats," he said.

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