Dubai International Boat Show 2005 concludes on resounding note as exhibitors report million dollar deals

The show attracted 20,414 trade visitors and general public. In all, 440 exhibitors from 30 countries were present at the event, which had 85 berths catering to boats ranging from 39ft to over 200ft.

Commenting on the success of the show, Helal Saeed Khalfan Al Marri, Director General, Dubai World Trade Centre said, "This has been another successful boat show for us. In fact, this year has seen new benchmarks in exhibitor numbers, visitor turnout and business deals. With this, we believe that Dubai International Boat Show has further secured its position as the definitive event of its kind in the Middle East, Asia and Northern Africa regions."

Reactions from leading regional and international exhibitors at the show echoed positive sentiments on the overall outcome of the exhibition, with most exhibitors finding the show an ideal platform to target key decision makers and marine enthusiasts.

"This was our best show ever as we signed five major deals for our Sunseeker range of yachts. We sold an 82 foot Sunseeker for AED 20 million to a UAE national, followed by four other contracts for boats between 37 and 60 feet. The total value of contracts on the first two days was more than US$ 10 million. Over the years, the show has evolved into the most important forum for the regional boating industry," remarked Ali Al Jafla, Managing Director, Sunseeker Middle East.

Herve Jaubert, Chief Executive Officer, Exomos said, "This show was a huge success for us, taking into account the amount of interest generated at our stands and the number of serious enquiries we received throughout the exhibition. This was the first time that so many different models of submarines were displayed at an international boat show. We had 10 submarines on display this year and the major attraction was our US$ five million luxury submersible yacht. Dubai is a very exiting place with vast business potential and this has been a very interesting experience for us."

GC Marine, one of the main exhibitors at the show clinched significant deals for their range of boats. Hicham M Hamza, Manager, GC Marine Yachts and Boats said, "The response we received at the Dubai International Boat Show has far exceeded expectations. We sold five 'Durra 38' 38 foot luxury boats to France, six 40 foot 'Sea Buses' to a company in Dubai, one 53 foot 'Durra 53' to a UAE national, while two 53 foot 'Sea Bus 53' were bought by Malta. Besides this, we also sold five 'Sooly' fishing boats to a buyer from the UAE, 31 'Seabreeze 4' to Azerbaijan and two more Seabreeze 4's to France. The total value of our deals amounted to more than US$ 5 million, making this a very successful exhibition for us."

Grandweld, the largest ship building company in Jadaf, received an order for building two new tugs for A.A. Turki Corp and Trading and Contracting, Saudi Arabia. The 4800 BHP modern design tugs will be fitted with state-of-the-art equipments for harbour operations, Class-1 fire fighting and anti pollution system for the Ports of Saudi Arabia. "The contract value is over US$ 10 Million and the tugs will be delivered in May 2006. We have increased our shipbuilding capacity and now we can accommodate 10 vessels in our new building, every year," explained Jamal Abki, General Manager, Grandweld.

"The resounding success of this edition of the Boat Show has confirmed the popularity and credibility of this exhibition. We hope to attract a larger number of visitors and exhibitors next year, expanding the scope of the show to introduce new concepts and designs," concluded Al Marri.

The next edition of Dubai International Boat Show will be held from March 13 and 17, 2006.