The Times Of Oman News

An Indian cargo ship loaded with vehicles and food supplies destined for Yemen sank on Saturday off the coast of Oman but without loss of life, Oman’s ONA state news agency reported. The ship, heading to Yemen's Al Mukalla port after it was loaded in Sharjah in the UAE, sunk off the coast of Jalan Bani Bu Ali province. Omani fishermen and police rescued all 11 crew on board. The vessel was carrying 69 vehicles, foodstuff, tyres and engine oils. The vessel sank due to damages caused by overloading, Gulf News reported. Times of Oman reported the captain as saying:  “At around 2am, our cargo vessel was hit by something while sailing. As it was dark, we couldn’t check what it was. Waited until early morning. At around 5am, two of our crew took a dive into water to check what has happened.

Oman’s Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) has signed agreements with three ship classification societies for small ships that do not abide by international treaties, said a report in Times of Oman. The agreements were signed with the British (Lloyds Register of Shipping), Italian (Rina) and Emirati (Tasneef) ship classification societies. Saeed bin Hamdoon bin Saif Al Harthy, undersecretary of Ports and Maritime Affairs, signed the agreements on behalf of the ministry and the chief executive officers and regional directors represented the classification societies. Additionally, the authorization involves conducting a technical survey on ships holding the Omani flag, as well as the issue of global certification.

Ten new medium range product tankers will join the fleet of state-owned Oman Shipping Company (OSC) in the next one year, taking the total strength of the fleet to 53 from 43 now, reports Times of Oman. According to the chief executive officer of Oman Shipping Company Tarik Mohammed Al Junaidi, the company will receive all 10 vessels between November this year and November 2016. The new vessels will be managed by Oman Ship Management Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oman Shipping Company. Al Junaidi said these ships are manufactured in South Korea by Hyundai. He said that about 2 years ago, Oman Shipping secured a deal with Shell for offering 10 mid-range product carriers.

A vessel carrying hundreds of cattle exported from Somalia to Saudi Arabia capsized off Oman coast on Saturday after being hit by stormy weather, according to reports from Arab media. The owner of the ship is Emirati and from Ajman while the crewmen were Pakistanis. The UAE owned ship was reportedly carrying 350 cows before it capsized, reports Al Ittihad, the Arabic-language paper. Witnesses said all of the cows and calves either swam to the shoreline themselves or were washed up by the current, reported The Times of Oman. All of the ship’s crew was saved but the ship was completely submerged within hours. All crew have been rescued by Oman's rescue team; however, the ship submerged at depth into the water after rescue team failed to save it.

In a decisive move to convert Oman's Sultan Qaboos Port into a tourism hub August 31, 2014 would be the deadline for receiving container, cargo, vehicle carriers and other vessels carrying project material at the port, reports the Times of Oman, citing Minister of Transport and Communications, Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Futaisi. The directive comes in response to the Royal directives of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said to convert the Sultan Qaboos Port into a tourist port and transfer all commercial activities to the Sohar Industrial Port.

The Oman on the Al Thuraya Bank Muscat Team team honed their racing skills at the J80 World Championships in Marseilles, France recently. A milestone event for the young Omani crew, who have only been racing together for four months, the J80 Worlds were always going to be a challenge, with a massive fleet of 118 teams, including Iker Martinez, the Olympic 49er gold medallist and Volvo Ocean Race skipper, reports Times of Oman. But the crew adjusted to the frenetic starts and melees around the marks to work their way up the rankings to finish in 31st place in the 59-strong silver fleet.

Oman's MB Holding Company, set to expand its newly aquired Oceanco. Rotterdam, shipyard facility. MB Holding Company, one of the largest oilfield services firms in the Middle East, has acquired Oceanco, a specialist in building luxury superyachts since 2010, and plans its massive expansion, reports the Times of Oman. The MB Group Chairman, Mohammed Al Barwani, pointed out to the Mayor of Rotterdam who was on a short visit to Oman, that some of the top businessmen in the world had bought superyachts from the shipyard, whose market tended to be to the Arab world, Asia, India, USA and Europe. Oceanco currently employs about two-hundred workers, but it is intended to double that number, having in the past year sold five superyachts with a total value of between €750 to €800 million.

Ahmed bin Abdulnabi Macki, minister of finance and national economy and deputy chairman of the Financial Affairs and Energy Resources Council, signed on behalf of the Sultanate's government while Nam San-tae, Daewoo chief executive officer and president, signed on behalf of his company. As per the 10-year agreement, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. Ltd, will provide administrative and technical support, transfer of modern technology used for ship repairing and maintenance of the dockyard project in Duqum. During its management of the project, the Korean company will prepare a work plan on marketing the services of the dry dock yard in Duqum to various international shipping companies…

Oman recently signed a major contract with the Australian shipbuilder Austal to buy two 65-meter, 50-knot, multipurpose state-of-the-art passenger-vehicle catamaran ferries. Ahmed bin Abdulnabi Macki, minister of national economy and deputy chairman of Financial Affairs and Energy Resources Council, and John Rothwell, executive chairman of Austal, signed the contract. The vessels, scheduled for delivery in 2007 and early 2008, will have a capacity to carry 203 passengers and 56 cars. These ferries are expected to provide a new tourism service to Oman, and will be the flagship vessels in the country’s expanded marine transport and security network. Each ferry is to be powered by four MTU 20-cylinder 1163-series diesel engines, driving a Rolls Royce/KaMeWa water-jet propulsion system.