For many it's a livelihood and a way of life.

Vessel workers who visit the Creek have witnessed the development of Dubai from a small trading post into a regional hub.

Every day, thousands in Dubai rush to and from work across the busy Maktoum Bridge. Perhaps some drivers glance down at the traditional dhows bobbing on the Creek's glistening waters. They may have even have taken a tour of the city onboard a tourist vessel. Kailash, however, rarely takes the time to stare back.

"I am the ship's captain," he says, his sea legs sturdily planted on the dhow's deck beneath us. "I've been the captain for 13 years. I started with washing dishes in the kitchen. I've been coming here for 22 years, but on this ship it's been 13."

Much of what comes into the Creek now comes from huge, newer ports, such as Jebel Ali and Port Rashid. These goods are then moved on from the Creek to other old harbours in countries such as Somalia, Pakistan, India and Iran. The trade network between these nations is older than Dubai itself and remains important to the region's smaller retailers.

Business really gets going at the wharfage right before lunch time, and wandering along the Creek at that time of the day means dodging trucks, hurried labourers and mountains of cargo, from car tyres and batteries, to soft drinks, fabric and bags of rice. Drivers wave their all-important green paperwork out their windows as they pass the customs building.

"We can transport 600 to 650 tonnes on this boat," explains Kailash, as loads of unmarked cardboard boxes are dropped on the deck. "This is general cargo like rice, flour, sugar, oil and cloth."

His boat is destined for Somalia this time and will return with a different load.

"Going from here, it's general cargo. But coming from there, it's charcoal."

Kailash and his fellow seamen sail the well-established trade routes to wherever there is cargo for them.

"It [the dhow] goes to all the places in the Gulf, Iran, Kuwait, Bahrain, India and Pakistan," he said. "Wherever there is cargo for us, we'll go there."

The trip to and from Somalia is the longest that most of the boats here undertake, explains Kailash. But as with all maritime journeys, the major factor is the weather. "Depending on the weather, if it's good we can get there in 10 days. If it's not, then it takes 25 days."

The captain and his crew have been well placed to witness changes in the region's climate, with increasing storms delaying trips. "At this time of the year, because of the weather, the Gulf waters are bad," he said. "The sea becomes too rough."

"There are storms... there are a lot more now. Normally there aren't these winds and rain. It started two years ago. At this time it's usually hot."

But he remains philosophical about the possible dangers. "Danger comes anywhere a person ventures," he says.

Mukhtar is a 48-year-old captain from Iran who has been working on dhows for 26 years. His boat mainly takes trips to and from Bushehr in Iran and he explained that captains usually get paid around Dh4,500 for one voyage, which lasts around 40 days, and the crew is paid between Dh2,000 and Dh2,500.

To move a full shipload of cargo from Bushehr to Dubai or vice versa costs Dh129,000, he added.

Mukhtar leans on a pallet of battery boxes and points to his friend sitting on top of the cargo. "The work can be very tough but Hussain here is strong enough to do it," he says as he looks at his crewmate. Hussain smiles.

Ten years ago they began using GPS navigational systems, explained the helmsman, pointing to modern equipment perched on top of the wooden craft. "Before that, we used charts and compasses."

Among those who work on the Creek there are varying views on how the economic slowdown has affected trade. Mukhtar says business is booming and that between 2000 and 2009 there has been a marked increase in goods coming in and out of the Creek. "2009 is very good," he says, adding that there is so much trade now that there is not enough space at the docks to offload their goods.

However, Mohammad Mustafa, a driver who transports textiles from the wharfage to a shop, says that trade is down. Most of the cargo coming into the Creek is shipped back out to destinations such as Russia and other parts of Asia and Europe, he explains, adding that in the past year or so his company's business has declined by more than half.

Creek workers may seem far removed from those driving to and from office towers in Dubai, but the economic debate resonates here as much as it does in business parks. Indeed, business has always been the language of the Creek.

Al Nisr Publishing LLC 2009. All rights reserved.

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