Taditional Gulf craft, designed with some modifications to meet the basic navigational needs of the day, still ply the commercial routes, with the UAE alone maintaining that several thousand of the craft were engaged in the international freight trade through Dubai last year.

A report by the Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corp said some 7,116 dhows transported 131,000 tonnes of goods using Dubai creek during 2001. The cargo was destined for Somalia, Iran, India, Pakistan, Yemen and the GCC states.

The report indicated that re-exports dominated dhow shipping with electronics and electrical equipment, foodstuffs and tyres topping the list of the re-exported goods. Next in importance were garments, home appliances, sewing machines, stationery equipment, furniture, paints, cars and clothes.

"The dhow is inextricably linked to our past. When the pearling trade was booming, dhow building was at its high point and among the most significant business activities," said the Dubai government's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) director of operations and marketing, Mohammed Khamis bin Hareb bin Hareb. Pearling was eclipsed when the oil era began several decades ago.

The tools used in building dhows were simple, such things as hammer and chisel, saw, drill and caulking iron. It could take up to a year to build a large one. Building material was imported. From India came the teak that was used for planking and for making the keel, stem, stern and masts. Rope came from Zanzibar and the sail canvas from Bahrain and Kuwait. Smaller boats were made of mango wood imported from India.

"Amazingly, the construction of dhows is still very much a living tradition in the UAE with at least as many traditional craft being constructed now as at the beginning of the 20th century," said the DTCM.

Today the important dhow-building centre is Ajman, which has the distinction of possessing the largest dhow-building yard on the coast.

"In order to protect the traditions of the past, dhow building and repairing is still a common activity in some areas throughout the UAE including Bateen in the capital city of Abu Dhabi and Al Shindagha and Garhoud in the emirate of Dubai," the DTCM said.