The new Damen composite vessel series for Dubai is the result of an international competition held by the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) which asked designers in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Australia to come up with a design for a new water taxi to be operated in the Dubai Creek.
The competition organisers announced Damen as the winner in mid-2008. These vessels represent the first time Dubai has used boats for unscheduled/on demand public transport.
The new vessels are designed with luxury in mind, featuring leather seats, personal television screens, air-conditioning and tinted glass. With a cruising speed of 34 knots, the new water taxis seat 10 passengers.
The hulls were fitted out at Damen in Gorinchem and the interior of the taxi was built and designed by Damen. The composite hulls were built at Lightweight Structures in Delft, with 45 moulds used to produce each vessel.
Work started on the first of the five water taxis in November 2008 and the first prototype was tested at Gorinchem in the summer last year. These first five were completed in March this year.
The first vessels were shipped by barge to the Port of Antwerp and there they were wrapped in protective packaging before being sent to Dubai.
Five of the water taxis will be in service this spring in Dubai and five more are expected to arrive later this year.