6/7 Al Bateen Wharf, Abu Dhabi 8 Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi
conditions from very dry to very damp due to the moisture in the air. So we have concrete deck pontoons and these have a very high quality finish and are aesthetically pleasing, but will also endure. “Another major issue is power supply. As vessels get larger the amount of power
needed increases exponentially, and during the summer months you can guarantee that they will be using all their air-conditioning units. That means more cabling, more equipment etc., and increased costs,” he adds. These considerations, coupled with environmental issues, are a constant
8
talking point among marina developers and operators, especially when forming regional partnerships. “We’ve always been diligent to make sure that we mesh with someone who has equal environmental priorities,” says Mourjan’s Horrigan. “I laugh when I hear people talking about LEED certification for marinas. There are a lot of buzzwords out there and, to be frank, maintaining the quality and beauty of the environment is simply all about maintaining our asset,” he continues. As operations director, Bate is insistent on maintaining the highest possible international standards across the company’s portfolio. “We make sure that we are awarded the five Gold Anchor star rating, which is internationally recognised. “There is also the Clean Marinas initiative which has very stringent guidelines for how
you operate and the European Blue Flag accreditation, both of which we bring to the marinas. But it really comes down to how you operate and when you build a marina you start a culture with strict policies and protocols.” Lane agrees, and says: “We have a huge interest in the natural environment and water
and the marine life is our product. The floating structures in our marinas are relatively intrusive onto the marine environment, but on the floats you see corals growing, so you can argue that the floating docks provide the grounds for coral growth and attract marine life. “We maintain the water and we clean our marinas every day from trash etc. We also
provide sewage pump-out facilities – both plug-in for larger vessels and communal facilities for smaller boats, and we are supported by an ENVAC system.” Aldar Marinas has also enrolled in the Blue Flag programme under the local sponsorship
of the World Wildlife Fund, as well as following the emirate’s own strict waste management guidelines. “We are also very proactive in filling in the gaps,” he adds. The environmental considerations extend beyond mere water quality issues, as Bate
explains: “Every site is completely different. If you have a site next to a beach or residential development, then the issues of noise pollution are huge – like the tinkling of the halyard. If you listen to 300 masts and halyards during a strong breeze it can be deafening.”
WORKING TOGETHER
The future of the region’s marina industry is contingent not only on the continued appetite for big boats and the financing to develop new locations, but on the combined efforts of the industry to promote the Gulf and Middle East as a multi-appeal destination. Says Mourjan’s Bate: “This region has a fantastic opportunity to really
show that it is a leading part of the international yachting industry. We need to work together as a region and really develop good guidelines by working closely with the different authorities and other developers.” Aldar is taking it a step further, as Lane explains: “We recently got together
with a number of other companies to establish the Marine Leisure Association of the Emirates. The industry here is still in its relative infancy and needs a combination of services working together. With that in mind we are looking at presenting a GCC Marina Alliance,” says Lane. “We want customers from our marina to have reciprocal benefits with
other marinas – and vice versa. This will also hopefully help flag the fact that it isn’t always easy to move around the UAE on the water because of certain restrictive legislation. If we are able to open up more destinations to boat owners then the easier it will become, and down the line the authorities will take a look at legislation and understand recreational boating. So this is very much an effort to kick-start destination yachting,” he confirms. And as regional interest grows so do the opportunities. “We are active right
across the Middle East, there isn’t one destination where we aren’t talking to people or conducting analyses. Equally we have been having some worthwhile due diligence evaluations of sites across North Africa in Egypt, Morocco and Libya, but they are very early in their market position. The eastern Mediterranean also presents some good opportunities with our efforts in Lebanon and the Black Sea markets showing strong promise,” says Horrigan. “In terms of the Arabian Gulf, the largest boating community is Kuwait,
with both existing and under-development marinas. The Saudi Arabian coastline is also being developed, there are new marinas in Bahrain and Qatar as well as projects in Oman,” adds Lane. So while investment and development in other sectors of the broader
real estate industry are still clinging on to various life rafts, the Gulf’s marinas have definitely found their sea legs.
jun-sep 2010
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