Geo-political and Geo-economic Dynamics of the Region in Developing the Sea-based Economy of the IOR Countries

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Kanwar Muhammad Javed Iqbal, Baber Bilal Haider

 

Abstract

The geo-politics and geo-economics of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) littoral are interconnected to each-other with a large scale of Afro-Asian population and a tremendous maritime economic potential. Welfare interests of the populations of IOR littoral states demand tapping of the Sea-based economic potential, but the geo- political dynamics of the region are not conducive due to diverse dimensions of multiplayers in the region and gradual Sino-Asian power shift, where philosophy of enhanced cooperation for peace and sustainability is highly needed. The addition of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has provided new avenues to harness the true potential and uplift the poverty by improving existing socio – economic ties. The BRI has many challenges, and its opportunities can be exploited by China, Pakistan and Iran, through an extra efforts on diplomatic front. Based on qualitative research and content analysis method, this paper aims to analyse the various aspects of the geo-politics and geo-economics of the IOR viz-a-viz Sea-based economic potential and rationalizes the need of enhanced cooperation for peace and sustainability in order to promote socio- economic uplift and prosperity across Afro-Asian region.

Keywords: Indian Ocean, Geo-political, Geo-economic, IOR Littoral, Afro-Asian region, Sea-based economy, Welfare interests, SLOC, CPEC, OBOR, Chahbahar Port, Gwadar Port, enhanced cooperation, socio-economic uplift.

1. Introduction

Indian Ocean is one of the busiest and most important ocean worldwide. Covering an area of 73,556,000 sq kms, this ocean consists of some of the most critical sea lanes and choke points. Indian Ocean region connects three continents (Asia, Africa & Australia) and two Oceans (Pacific and Atlantic) with each other. This means that the security of this region is absolutely vital for economic activities on more than 50% of the globe. Moreover, the Indian Ocean is the battleground for some of the key sea lanes in the world including Strait of Hormuz and Malacca Strait. Almost 90,000 commercial vessels annually transport 9.84 billion tonnes through Indian Ocean. It’s strategic position crossing global trade connecting the major international economic hubs in the Asia- Pacific & Northern Atlantic implies the dominance in the Indian Ocean, which is pivotal to influence the trade of major economies of the world.

The Sea Lines of Communications (SLOCs) in IOR region got more significance in late 90s, when the forces of globalisation stimulated huge economic growth resulting in enlarged consumption & competitive trade and generating an increase in oil demand in both developed & developing countries. The significance of Indian Ocean is beyond comparison because the energy cargoes that flow through this ocean run majority of the world’s economies. The 36 million Barrels per day is around 40% of the global supply of oil & 64% of oil trade move through entryways of the Indian Ocean.The most important of these include the  Straits  of Malacca, Hormuz, & Bab-el-Mandeb1. It’s also richly blessed with fishing and aquaculture resources. Mineral resources in the seabed are present in abundant quantities with nodules containing iron, copper, zinc, cobalt, nickel, manganese, silver and gold present. Coastal sediments of Indian Ocean also have sources of zirconium, titanium, zinc, tin, & copper and various rare earth elements. Indian Ocean is also home to many island countries like, Maldives,  Seychelles,  Mauritius,  Madagascar  etc.  whose  entire economies are dependent on the ecosystem of the waters near them.”

The geo-politics and geo-economics of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) littoral are interconnected to each-other due to large scale of Afro-Asian population, trade & cultural routes, sea-based economy, coastal tourism and other interests of leading global powers. Welfare interests of the populations of IOR littoral states demand tapping of the Sea-based economic potential, but the geo -political dynamics of the region are not conducive due to diverse dimensions of multiplayers in the region and gradual Sino-Asian power shift, where philosophy of enhanced cooperation for peace and sustainability is highly needed. The addition of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has provided new avenues to harness the true potential and uplift the poverty by improving existing socio – economic ties, but has many challenges.

Based on qualitative research and content analysis method, this paper aims to analyse the various aspects of the geo-politics and geo-economics of the IOR viz-a-viz Sea-based economic potential and rationalizes the need of enhanced cooperation for peace and sustainability in order to promote socio-economic uplift and prosperity across Afro-Asian region.

2. Outlook of the Geopolitics Of IOR

Asia has the world’s largest human resources and consequently natural markets, consumer markets, development scope, & connectivity potential. For better connectivity with the world through major channels present in Indian Ocean, it is called strategic conduit of commerce, which makes foundation for trading systems, that underpins Asia’s economic significance. At present, Asia is the centre ground of great power rivalries with Russia & China being taken as challengers by the U.S and its allies turning the region more competitive than cooperative. Afghanistan presents part of this picture with a devastating war since 17 years with no end in sight.

From Pakistan’s perspective, it’s important to ally itself with forces of regional progress, and for that it has to alter the region and turn itself into mega trade corridor. For this purpose, Pakistan has increasingly realized that its future lies in pursuing the common future of this region including Afghanistan, Central Asian Republics, Iran and China and sometimes with Russia. Furthermore, it also realizes that perpetual hostility with India is not going to serve any purpose and the only way to solving the disputes in this region is through shared vision of prosperity for huge population deprived of the opportunities it deserves to materialize its potential.  The biggest and most important player  to carve out this constructive picture out of this troubled region is undoubtedly China; let us briefly see roles in the IOR.

2.1 Chinese Role in IOR

China’s emerging strategy for the maritime affairs in IOR has two interconnected building blocks i.e. a philosophy of a two Ocean’s Navy and initiative  on the maritime silk route for which an aggressive work is being done by China over the last 10 years  or so in order to achieve these two milestones in an influencing manner China is marching its way to pursue “two-ocean” strategy with a slow and steady mode, thus gradually expanding its maritime operations from Western Pacific and Southern Sea into the IOR. Endorsed since mid-2000s, China’s strategy of “Far-Seas Operations” is manifested by its vision of building placement with adequate berthing arrangements in the Indo-Pacific region. This arrangement would address the energy security challenges and imperatives with improved achievement on “far seas protection”. This will also provide an extra edge in projection of its naval power. Such a tectonic like transition i.e. shifting a “near sea policy” into a “far sea policy” can be considered a landmark conversion inside the intellectual maritime capacity as was reflected by the Chinese in the recent years. China’s naval force posturing is rooted in its evolved ocean-centric strategic thinking. It  may  be  considered  an  indicator  of  a  bigger  game  plan with strong naval presence in the Indian Ocean as manifested by the recent naval events with a shift from eastern to western IOR quadrants, which are observed on an ever increasing scale since 2017.

On February 2017, in the eastern part of the IOR, China fired its cruise missile3 and its Haikou and Changsha destroyers for the purpose of war readiness through the combated drills, and the exercise was also meant to meet any piracy related challenge with swift response mechanism. Now, sighting of Chinese naval surface ship and submarines is quite often in the eastern Indian Ocean quadrant. This Chinese presence includes surveillance vessels for tracking the tri-lateral Malabar exercises by the US, India and Japan, which were performed in the Bay of Bengal with an apparent intention, against China, to show a level of implicit balance in this maritime zone. At the same time, China’s posture was very smart with a mature expression in the form an extended invite to India, in August 2017 through Capt. Liang Tianjun4, for joint efforts towards enhanced maritime safety and security in IOR. In return for ensuring a multi-actors’ symbiotic relationship in IOR, China wants to safeguard its interests i.e. peaceful operations for energy / national security that can be ensured with no-hindrance from the presence of all other states in the region.

On the other hand, India is observed very sensitive for this Chinese presence, as it is considered its strategic backyard by India5, with its own ocean claim to an extent thus aspire to have pre-eminence over it. Contrary to it, emergence of Chinese role in the IOR renders an overall maritime encirclement when compared with the Indian land encirclement.

Another Chinese deployment activity occurred in August 2017 with Chinese naval formation / exercise6 in the waters of Western IOR. There was an unprecedented live fire drill in which strikes were made against an assumed enemy’s naval surface vessels. Though the assumed “enemy” was kept classified but the overall scenario made it obvious to the intelligentsia of the world that the Indian Navy was the rival in sight, as it was also highlighted  in the South China Morning Post where this Chinese drill was mentioned a clear warning for India. However, the Indian concerns were brushed off by the Chinese print media groups7. For the purpose of power show, China opened up a “logistics support facility” at Djibouti during September 2017 and also conducted a complete package of military exercises.

2.2 Chinese Maritime Agenda and the Silk Route

In October 2017, the 19th Congress of the ruling Party in China was held and led to important strategic decisions. The Congress for the first time, officially wrote the need and continuation of “Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)” into the Party Constitution. The “Belt” refers to overland road across Eurasia including the CPEC, while, the road corresponds to the Silk Route initiative by China; all were started in 2013.It is a first kind of a maritime project consisting geo-economic & geopolitical outcomes safeguarding maritime interests of China and power considerations significantly. However, in May 2017, an advanced BRI Forum was held in Beijing, attended by eleven IOR states which are part of the Silk Route project; included Bangladesh, Iran, Indonesia (by the President), Australia, Kenya (by the President), Malaysia (by the Prime Minister), Maldives, Singapore, Myanmar,  Sri  Lanka (by the Prime Minister), and Pakistan (by the Prime Minister). The major emphasis of the forum was maintained on the maritime and overland Silk Route projects.

Source: Chinese BRI documents and other material

On 20th June 2017, a white paper was revealed by the China and it was titled “Vision for Maritime Cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative”, and was prepared by the NDR Commission & SOA – the Oceanic Administration of China prepared this document. It was termed as an absolute and “pragmatic cooperation” including “shelving differences and building consensus for a win-win scenario towards the efforts of upholding the existing international ocean order.” However, the document didn’t mention the refusal of China to permit the tribunal adjudication of UNCLOS regarding its claim in the waters of Southern China Sea.

The concept of Silk Route’s BRI is developed with an excellent vision for interconnected ports & nodal points stretching across the IOR and beyond. It is very important and has a lot of significance for China’s three-fold connectivity in the IOR. Firstly, the infrastructure projects linking in formulation of nodal points and to promote active participation of Chinese enterprises. Secondly, to secure the interest of growing number of Chinese merchant ships; third and the last is to install its naval power in order to safeguard commercial aspects including the shipping business.

The Chinese BRI agenda with the provision of ports in or near the IOR would have a greater likelihood to shift the strategic geo- political agenda and relocate the geographical features / positions as were outlined in of U.S String of Pearls Framework 2005; and if happens so, it would be an ultimate outcome of the Chinese strategy behind  its bigger  game  play for which it is constructing bases as well as services in the IOR and beyond i.e. a chain stretching from Gwadar, Hambantota, Chittagong and Sittwe. However, whole Chinese advancement is very calm and perhaps classified that is why it has always denied the existence of any such policy. But, the situation is pretty clear as it has made continuous efforts during the last decade in order to develop a series ports usage agreements across the IOR and beyond that is why allied facilities are included at Mombassa & Djibouti.

The year 2017 observed a rapid penetration of China in the IOR ports. In September (2017), China and Myanmar reached to an agreement whereby China got 70% stakes, for its state owned company CITIC, in the running deep water Kyauk Pyu. This port is strategically located providing a very good entrance to the Myanmar-China O&G pipeline. Earlier in July 2017, Sri Lanka agreed to a similar agreement with 70% stakes for Chinese state owned company CMPH in development of port Hambantota with a lease arrangement over 99 year period. Given role to state owned companies signifies a deliberate strategy of China’s central government.

The Gwadar port located on Pakistan’s serene coastline is being considered a precious pearl towards Chinese agenda and strategy in the IOR. Its construction is being done under China’s financial assistance for CPEC, and it is owned and administered by another Chinese state owned company COPHC with a lease tenure of 40 years. The strategic significance of Gwadar for China includes energy supplies from the Middle East and the CPEC which is meant to have an improved infrastructure for  bilateral connectivity.

The strategic significance of Gwadar & Kyauk Pyu will  certainly help China in addressing its current vulnerability of the Malacca Dilemma; whereby energy imports of China sailing across eastern part of the IOR i.e. Malaccan Strait can potentially be cut off by the India or U.S.A. with their naval  presence.

2.3 Chahbahar Port

It is worth mentioning that Iran’s development of Chahbahar port, as a strategic port with Indian assistance, on the mouth of Strait of Hormuz has been apparently seen as a rival of Gwadar port in countering the increasing influence and economic bene fits for China and Pakistan in the region. However, China’s outlook of the port of Chahbahar is not marred by insecurity. In December 2017, China expressed its interest to Iran to establish a connection between Pakistan’s Gwadar port and Iran’s south-eastern port of Chabahar. China informed Iran that it was interested in using Chabahar to transit goods from Gwadar to regional and extra- regional destination points8. The Foreign Minister of Iran, Dr Javad Zarif again visited Pakistan in March 2018 and asked Pakistan to participate in Chahbahar seaport project and its development for linkage with Gwadar Port. He wanted to allay concerns here over Indian involvement at Chahbahar port.9

While the Indian tactics of aligning with the US in Afghanistan against the interests of China and Pakistan to integrate the whole region for initiating a new chapter of regional and  global prosperity have added a negative tone to the regional development. However, it is a known fact that Gwadar has strong edge over Chahbahar port for its geographic location to rule maritime waters utility and its vicinity with China due to the road connectiviy. Chabahar is not located in the Indian Ocean region, where Indi a’s other functional ports: Mumbai, Nava Sheva, Goa, and Kolkata are situated having the shelter of the Indian Navy to protect their maritime operations. The vicinity of Gwadar to Chahbahar  port (72 km) covering a Pakistan Navy dominated area would always continue to a nuisance for India especially after China has gained administrative control of Gwadar since April 2017.

Moreover, China has already invited India to enter the joint venture of the Maritime Silk Road (MSR) but the Indian side has  so far refrained from showing any interest in joining this game changing historic project. The absence of India at the Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing on May 2017 was a clear message of disinterest or perhaps mistrust which is so deeply embedded in the Indian psychology for both Pakistan and China. The official explanation  for  this  Indian  boycott   was  China’s  linkage   of  the CPEC to the MSR initiative and since CPEC goes through the disputed area of Jammu & Kashmir, India wanted to register its dislike for the initiative. Since its inception, India is quite cautious about the whole MSR initiative as this initiative geographically surrounds the India. India perceives that it is another strategy of China to enclose India. However, China has officially denied any such strategy.

The geo-economics of the MSR presents China with interests to acquire, maintain, and defend if needed. And these interests can only be safe  guarded through a strong Navy.

2.4 China’s Improving Naval Power

The Chinese maritime strategy seems to further strengthen and is expected to manifest in China’s improvised capability to utilize more powerful assets into the Indian Ocean region. In the 19th Party Congress, a formal resolution approved President Xi Jinping’s call to build a powerful & modernized navy. In 2017, an unprecedented pace of Chinese naval capacity building was observed.

One   indicator   of   this   was   the   unveiling    of   the Type 055 destroyer in June. Which is Chinese Navy’s first 10,000 tons nationally created and domestically built surface warrior.10 Chinese official state media (XINHUA) considered this a milestone in refining the nation’s navy armament system and building a strong & modern navy. The Type 055 is the China’s first new generation destroyers.

Till now, China has not deployed its aircraft carrier in Indian Ocean. It converted an ex-Soviet carrier, the Varyag, installing it into the navy as the Liaoning in 2012. However, it is important to mention that China is already deploying towards the Indian Ocean, where in January 2017 saw the Liaoning leading a warship flotilla into the South China Sea including drills with advanced J- 15 aircraft making it the first Chinese aircraft carrier deployment into the South China Sea and established a strong policy to showcase maritime power. This projection was partially in context of signifying clear superiority over local rival beneficiaries in the South China Sea and partially to commence matching U.S. aircraft carrier dispositions into waters that China claims as its own. However, the U.S. claims it as international waters, in which it could commence freedom of navigation exercises.

A massive development for Chinese aircraft carrier power projection is the faster construction of its home-made aircraft carrier during 2017. China’s first indigenous aircraft carrier Type 001A was launched on April, 2017 at Shanghai with berth exercises conducted at Dalian in October. By 2018, this new aircraft carrier appears to join the Chinese Navy, which is two years earlier than initially expected. It’s projected to be  placed with the South China Sea fleet thereby reserved for regular distribution into the South China Sea & IOR. It’s expected to feature an electromagnetic launch system. The event creates a strategic acceleration of Chinese efforts for building a blue water navy to ensure its safe key maritime trade routes and to encounter America’s dominant position in the Asia Pacific region along with India’s position in the IOR.

2.5 Countervailing Responses

In response to China’s Maritime Silk Road (MSR) initiative, India has started to pursue its own Mausam & Cotton route projects as an initiative for the Indian Ocean cooperation, deliberately leaving China out of this exercise. India alongside Japan is engaged in promoting the Africa Asia Growth Corridor (AAGC), which also does not include China. American advocacy of the Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor (IPEC) for linking South Asia to  South-East  Asia  has  also  seen  in  link  with  the  Indian and Japanese proposals. As for the Chinese “two-ocean” naval strategy, the increased deployment in the Indian Ocean has led to India moving rapidly towards trilateral security cooperation with Japan and the US. Australia also beckons in this regional response to China manifested in recovery of “Quad” discussions between US, Australia, India, & Japan on 12th Nov,2017. This offset security development comprises the trilateral MALABAR exercises in June 2017 among American, Japanese, and Indian Naval forces  in  which these exercises in the Bay of Bengal exhibited a move of venues from the Western Pacific into the IOR. Australia is also most likely to join the MALABAR structure within this “Quad” development.

2.6 Maritime Threats and Pakistan’s Role in IOR

About 95% of Pakistan’s trade is carried out through the ports of Karachi, Port Qasim, and Gwadar with Pasni, Ormara, Jiwani, and Gadani and receiving small number of cargoes. These harbours, especially Karachi, Port Qasim and Gwadar have tremendous significance for Pakistan, landlocked Central Asian States and Afghanistan and now increasingly China in view of the CPEC project. Long serene coastline & significant harbours provide Pakistan with a strategic location, which is ideal for sea trade and other commercial activities conducted in mostly foreign ships. The role of Pakistan in international navigation,  the Gwadar port, and the EEZ is very important for its economic development.

However, the rise of non-conventional threats near coastal areas of Pakistan hamper its economic & security interests. Ignoring all these impacts will intentionally place Pakistan in an adverse position with land-locked countries to which, Pakistan wants to offer a pathway to IOR. Unless or until these sub- conventional & non-traditional threats are resolved, Pakistan wouldn’t be able to conquer its national security.

Therefore, it is important to stabilize the economy for acquiring defence modernization and to deal with non-traditional threats. In addition, Pakistan also needs to focus more on naval empowerment of its naval forces for ensuring security at its sea lane, international trade, and maritime interests in Indian Ocean region.

These uninterrupted threats of terrorism have transnational apprehensions for diplomatic interests of Pakistan in Indian Ocean region. Possible assaults by radical military factions with the assistance of regional powers opposing CPEC on seaports and coastlines along with dangers of weaponization, human trafficking and drugs smuggling could obstruct global trade activities on coastline of Pakistan.

These serious maritime security threats not only marginalize national security of Pakistan but also other coastal states of the Indian Ocean region. Collective cooperation and comprehensive maritime security strategy can be an effective way to safeguard national & regional interests. International ships & ports facilities meant to secure world maritime standards offer the guideline principles for safety and security of ports & sea lines. Under these rules & regulations, a joint intelligence system and a security plan can be shared focussing on maritime security agencies, customs, immigration, police, piracy, narcotics control and related issues.

3. Geo-Economic Capacity of The Indian Ocean Region

The world has dramatically changed during past 150 years or so, and with every decade passing by, new  technological heights are achieved, and new commercial avenues opened. Advancement in medical technology, pharmaceutical technology, transportation, and communication and literally every other field during the past century, and a half has increased the life expectancy of a child and has resulted in upsurge of population that is unprecedented in human history. According to United Nations report11 The current world’s population of 7.6 billion is projected to rise up to 8.6 billion in the 2030, 9.8 billion in year 2050, and 11.2 billion in the year 2100. Around 83 million people are being added to the world population each year with the rising trend in population size is anticipated to rise further. More than 60% of this population  (about 4.5 billion) lives in Asia. This means that the driving force of world’s economy lies in Asia.

Indian Ocean being the connecting channel for East Asia, South Asia, Australia, Middle East and Africa, bulk of this expected upsurge in trade will be seen in its waters. Apart from the huge oil supplies that move from Gulf to the Far East, major share of the rest of the items that constitute these 11.6 billion tons per annum seaborne trade also go through Indian Ocean. Looking at the world container port volumes by region, 64% of the trade goes to Asia. This shows the importance of the seaports in our area. Then if you look at the world’s ports rankings by volume, 9 out of the top 12 ports are located in China alone. So that indicates the direction of the world economy and signifies the importance of Indian Ocean in general and CPEC and Gwadar in particular for Pakistan.

With the rise of China, India and the newly developing ports in the Indian Ocean region such as Gwadar (Pakistan), Chahbahar (Iran), Kyauk Pyu (Myanmar) etc., along with the additional factor of OBOR and CPEC present a future picture of much higher trade volumes. China’s increasing demand for fuel from the Middle East and its pursuit to overcome United States as the largest economy of the world in the coming years, along with factors of demographically younger populations in countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan and India means ever increasing demand for goods. This will be facilitated by enhanced regional connectivity through OBOR projects which aim to transport goods at a faste r pace due to shortening of time and distance (major aims of OBOR & CPEC) will result in tremendous commercial growth and job creation for the people of the not only the IOR region, but also for Central Asia and Europe.

3.1 OBOR & CPEC’S Significance for IOR Geo-Economics

China launched the ambitious, game changing the Belt  and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013, a project which is intended to develop physical infrastructure across sixty-five countries in Asia, Europe, & Africa. China intends to invest around USD 150 billion in these projects every year till their completion, pledging more than $900 billion towards in total. This unprecedented initiative includes building of ports, power houses, bridges, railways and sea routes which will link East Africa and the Mediterranean region with the southern coast of China in two ways. One way is the ‘Maritime Silk Road, whereas the other is the Silk Road Economic Belt. The latter consists of a number of overland corridors, which will connect China to Europe via Central Asia and with Middle East via Pakistan. There are six economic corridors that China is building now, and all of these are interconnected to each other. These are China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor (CMREC), the New Eurasian Land Bridge (NELB); the China-Central & West Asia Economic Corridor (CCWAEC); the China-Indo-China Peninsula Economic Corridor (CICPEC); the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC); and the Bangladesh-China-India- Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIMEC). Looking at all of these corridors, CPEC’s overarching significance cannot be ignored as it occupies a central position in the whole OBOR project12.

 

Source:  BRI map by  Chinese Government

CPEC provides an alternate route for China’s imports of oil and gas from the gulf region, with Gwadar deep seaport located right at the mouth of Hormuz. It also provides an ideal location for a world class petrochemical complex. Going back to history, it’s important to note that before Suez Canal was established, the sea trade ships between Asia and Europe had to go all the way from Atlantic Ocean down to the Cape of Good Hope and then upwards in the Indian Ocean. Suez Canal made the sea route between the two continents shorter, consequently increasing the trade volume significantly. Similarly, Gwadar will help to dramatically increase the  trade  volumes  between  the  regional  countries  and  is   also expected to supplement the Suez Canal  in further  cutting down the time and costs for good transportation  between Asia, Africa and Europe.

CPEC has great potential in bringing down the quotient of hostility between Pakistan and its neighbours as it will also  benefit Afghanistan and India enormously. It can provide an alternative vision to start a new chapter in regional cooperation. Natural routes of trade between Kabul and East Punjab as well as Kandahar and Rajasthan can be facilitated by CPEC. The South Asian region populated by over 1.7 billion people, half of whom live under poverty line (less than 2$ per day), and whose potential has been held back by the regional proxy wars and conflicts can be unleashed, providing the much-needed economic upsurge in the region.

Pakistan being long standing strategic ally of China has special place in this whole initiative is injected with large investments for the CPEC, whereas Sri Lanka has leased out the Hambantota port project to China.

3.2 American Response To CPEC

As far as U.S is concerned, President George W. Bush was supportive of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which was given final touches by President Obama to set rules for trade and investment in the Asia Pacific region13. That policy was reversed by Donald Trump as soon as he came into office. Had US stood by this agreement, it would have served its purpose better by supporting those countries, who want to be a part of OBOR and minimize their economic risks. US has also lost its influence to propose better terms of trade for countries, where China is the key exporter as it’s too pre-occupied with the military actions and post- cold war mentality and cannot present further a competitive and constructive investment plan to nations as opposite to BRI or TPP.

Russia on the other hand has returned as tremendous power in world politics. Although not as impactful as China in terms of economic  prowess  and  goodwill among the  poor nations, Russia has come up with strong policies under Vladimir Putin and smartly allied with China while the dragon rises to the top of the world. Russia has successfully signed agreements with individual states & bilateral security pacts including agreements with countries  sharing  borders with Russia including Belarus and Armenia. Russia-Pakistan relations have also improved significantly over the past few years. Pakistan’s offer to Russia to join CPEC and the positive response of Russians (Express Tribune, 2018), increased military ties between the two countries and Chinese apparent alliance with Russians to counter the US dollar’s dominance in the monetary system of the world all point towards a convergence of interest between Pakistan, China and Russia, which will facilitate their joint efforts to boost strategic and economic ties in the future.

As China, Russia and other global players gaining ground, the influence of the US is stagnating. Facing aggressive moves by Moscow and Beijing, the U.S may be enforced to accept influence of exclusionary regional spheres. World order is in a transformative mode where Pakistan’s bitter experience of US policies towards it and devastating effects of its aggressive military actions and negative self-centred policies has pushed Pakistan towards China.

In regard to the Indian Ocean, Pakistan’s interests to play effective role to ensure maritime security with the active assistance from its global and regional countries including China. The strong U.S and China military presence in the Indian Ocean needed to be monitored by concerned states. In this scenario, the fast development and increased Gwadar port operations may help for a better working relationship between Pakistan & china in helping to secure sea routes. It has a huge potential of deflecting the external power’s grouping within the region.

With the movement of world towards multi polar world, it is widely recognized by experts from the West and the East that the Indian Ocean region cannot be managed by one or two countries. The huge expanse of its area and the involvement of multiple players involving points out towards a collective responsibility of all stakeholders, with mutual respect and will to co-exist. This world cannot afford to have a war between nuclear armed states.

3.3 Fisheries  & Aquaculture

Fisheries have found to be one of the key resources of Indian Ocean region and provides food to millions of people around the globe. About one billion people largely in developing countries depend on fish as their chief energy source of animal protein, FAO. In the year 2010, fish provided more than 2.9 billion people with about 20 % of animal protein intake, and 4.3 billion people with 15% of fish protein14.U. N agency reports shows that in some countries specifically small island countries, fish contributes around 25% of animal protein intake. Its major role in poverty alleviation and increased employment and business opportunities is  vast. From annual production of 860,000 tons in 1950 to  almost 11.5 million tons in 2010, fisheries sector has shown a phenomenal growth. It’s expected that the demand is constant. A huge increase in fish production has been observed from 861,000 tons in 1950 to 11.5 million tons in 2010 and world total demand for fisheries products is expected to further rise from 50 million to 183 mi llion tons in the year 2015 with aquaculture activities predicted to 73% of this rise. Aquaculture offers vast potential for food provision and large number of livelihoods under the umbrella of Blue Economy will definitely add value in natural capital and its development while take care of ecological parameters during production activities and creating sustainable and decent employment opportunities and provides high quality goods for exports.

Natural fisheries resources have been facing the challenge of overexploitation due to growing public demand for seafood products. Therefore, there is a dire need to find balance between population demand & environmental health for the promotion of sustainable fishing & aquaculture. Sustainable fisheries can add value in billions and millions of tonnes of fish each year. While aquaculture has vast potential for continued growth to meet the food requirements at global level.

3.4 Renewable Ocean Energy

Rising awareness about the environmental degradation and global warming has resulted in an increased demand for renewable energy over the past two decades. Renewable sources of energy i.e., solar & wind are already being employed worldwide. In this regard, the potential of RE in Indian Ocean’s is tremendous. However, extra incentives in RE are in high demand to further reduce the fossil fuels burden. Now, time is appropriate to explore potential of RE sources obtained from the ocean. The ocean provides immense potential for blue RE from waves, tidal, wind, thermal, & biomass energy sources.

In the above-mentioned actions, it can also be proposed to bring all the offshore oil & gas communities together with the Renewable Ocean Energy community to carry out a gap analysis related to oil and gas exploration. In this scenario, the potential for offshore oil & gas sector development in the Indian Ocean region should also be considered.

3.5 Offshore Hydrocarbons & Sea-bed Minerals

With the decline in inland mineral deposits and  rising industrial demand, much attention has now been given on mineral exploration and seabed mining. The seabed covers minerals, which offer amazing economic development opportunities in both  the EEZ of maritime nations and beyond the limits of national jurisdiction. Sea-bed exploration has already started in the Indian Ocean. However, major constraints in the commercialization of these resources face limited data availability of member states on resources of their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ), lack of exploration capacity, and mining & processing of these mineral resources. Thus, authentic information is required to gain the maximum deployment of these marine minerals across the region.

3.6 Marine Biotechnology

Marine Biotechnology is a fascinating and growing new area of scientific research. It has the potential for building an eco- sustainable and highly  efficient society. Important areas of research in this field are relevant to aquaculture; whereby new methodologies can assist in breeding of selected species; increasing sustainable production; and improvement in animal welfare, which includes rise in food supply, use of zero waste recirculation systems, and preventive therapeutic measures.

The quality of aquaculture products needs to be improved to gain optimal nutritional components for human health. Another important sector of marine biotechnology is the development of Renewable Energy (RE) products and sustainable practises of biogas production from marine algae. Furthermore, sea is blessed with large amount of untapped minerals, which can be used potentially as novel drugs, nutraceuticals, and beauty care products. Blue Biotechnology can also be utilized in addressing major environmental issues including bio-sensing technologies for in-situ marine monitoring & development of cost-effective and non- toxic antifouling technologies. Enzymes, Biopolymers, Bioluminescent materials can also be extracted through biotechnology, which can be used in many and important  industrial processes.

3.7 Coastal Tourism

Indian Ocean has some of the most exotic coastal sites to visit. South Africa, Tanzania, Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives,  Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia etc. all have  beaches and resorts that attract millions of tourists per year. Coastal tourism is a fast-growing sector contributing 10% of the world’s GDP, creating 1 in 10 jobs globally. It has generated over US$ 1.4 trillion in export earnings15. In view of this expected growth, it is critical that multiple arenas are explored to grow sustainable tourism.

As the world’s largest country by population, China, is so close to Pakistani nation and its attachment with the CPEC project in particular and Pakistan in general ensures quite a substantial amount of tourism development not only in Pakistan’s but also in Iran’s   coastal   areas.  The   China  Outbound   Tourism Research Institute (COTRI) shows that the Chinese overseas tours will raise from 145 million in 2017 to more than 400 million by the end of 2030 (Smith, 2018). According to UNWTO, out of the 600 million additional trips in world tourism bringing the total from 1.2 billion in the year 2017 to 1.8 billion by the end of 2030, which is almost half of them, will originate in China16. The country will contribute a quarter of international tourism.

Moreover, with the Gwadar port development, the influx of traders and families from Central Asian Republics is also expected to grow phenomenally. Tourism expenditures, export & import of tourism related products, and services generate handsome income to the economy of host country. Tourism is considered as a key source of foreign exchange earnings of about 38% of all countries. Government revenues from tourism sector can be characterized as direct and indirect contributions. Direct contributions are generated by taxes on revenues from tourism businesses, tourism employment, and through direct charges on tourists i.e., Eco-tax or departure taxes. Indirect contributions develop from taxes and duties on supply of goods and services to tourists including tax on souvenirs restaurants, etc.

According to the World Travel & Tourism Council  (2011)17  alone, travel & tourism contributed 9% of the global GDP and provided 260 million jobs worldwide. Tourism can generate large number of jobs directly through restaurants, hotels, souvenir sales, taxis and indirectly through goods and supply services needed by tourism related businesses.

Tourism also has the power to induce local government to improve the infrastructure by modernizing water and sewage systems, roads, electricity, telephone and public transport networks. All this can improve the quality of life for residents as well as facilitate tourism.

In view of IORA’s decision not to include Pakistan primarily because of Indian attempt to isolate Pakistan in the region18, Pakistan needs to pursue the goals of emerging blue economy concept in collaboration with its regional partners through platforms such as SCO, OIC and bilaterally with countries of the ASEAN. Having picturesque coastal areas in Baluchistan and Sindh, Pakistan also needs to upgrade its own strategy to develop coastal tourism, as CPEC will result in lots of tourists from China and regional countries visiting Pakistan. The potential is worth billions of dollars, but the pre-requisites of manpower training, world class infra-structure and entertainment facilities along with better law and order situation needs to be provided to harness the upcoming opportunities in this area.

4. Conclusion and Recommendations

The geo-politics and geo-economics of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) littoral are interconnected to each-other due to large scale of population, trade & cultural routes, sea-based economy, coastal tourism and other interests of leading global powers. IOR has tremendous potential of geo-economic activities which are not only important for the Asian countries but also  equally important for the entire world. The addition of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has provided new avenues to harness the true potential and uplift the poverty by improving existing socio-economic ties in the Indian Ocean littoral countries. It is also important to notice that the geo – political aspects have diverse dimensions in the region where philosophy of enhanced cooperation for peace and sustainability would be highly needed to promote socio-economic uplift and ensure prosperity in the region. The new economic initiative by the Chinese Government is promising for the entire region where Pakistan and Iran would be the major beneficiaries from overall development. The role of major global powers needs to promote peace and cooperation for which China, Pakistan and Iran need to make extra efforts on diplomatic fronts.

Kanwar Muhammad Javed Iqbal is a Maritime Researcher, Islamabad-Pakistan, and Research Fellow at Center for Global & Strategic Studies, Islamabad – Pakistan reachable at kanwar.javediqbal@gmail.com Baber Bilal Haider is a PhD Scholar at National Defense University, Islamabad – Pakistan, reachable at cdrbaber@yahoo.com

References

1 Dhruva Jaishankar, “Indian Ocean Region: A Pivot for India’s Growth” , BROOKINGS, September 12, (2016).

2 Amy Derr, A. (2015, January 26,). “The Pursuit of Peaceful Expansion: China’s Maritime Silk Road of the 21st Century through Offensive Realism and Complex Interdependence,” WORDPRESS, January 26, 2015, https://myoldresearchpapers.wordpress.com/2015/01/26/the-pursuit-of-peacefulexpansion-chinas-maritime-silk-road-of-the-21st-century-through-offensive-realismand-complex-interdependence/

3 David Scott, “Chinese Maritime Strategy for the Indian Ocean,” CIMSEC, (November 2 8 , 2017). 4 Deputy Chief of General Office of China’s South Sea Fleet 5 Aneja, A, “China Deploys Warships in Indian Ocean,” THE HINDU, February 21, 2018.

6 The formation included live show of guided-missile frigate, destroyer and supply vessel along-with a fire drill.

7 Yuandan and Yusha. “India should get used to China’s military drills: expert,” Global Times, August 27, 2017, http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/ 1063429.shtml

8 China wants link between Gwadar Chabahar ports. https://www.presstv.com/ Detail/2017/12/27/546973/China-wants-link-between-Gwadar-Chabahar-ports. Published: 27th December 2017. Accessed: 20th September 2018.

9 Sayyed, Baqir Sajjad.(2018, March 13). “Iran invites Pakistan to participate in Chahbahar Propject”. Dawn.com, Retrieved from https://www.dawn.com/news/ 1394938.

10 Andrew Tate, A. (2018, July 3). China launches two Type 055 destroyers simultaneously in Dalian. Jane’s360 [London].

11 United Nations report, 21 June, 2017.

12 “Russia to become part of game changer CPEC,” The Express Tribune, March 23 , 2018, https://tribune.com.pk/story/1667265/1-russia-become-part-game-changer-cpec.

13 McBride, James, “What is the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP),” Council on Foreign Relations, May 15, 2018, https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-trans-pacificpartnership-tpp.15th May 2018. on 20th September 2018

14 “The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture – Opportunities & Challenges,” (2014) Accessed: 20th September 2018, http://www.fao.org/3/a-i3720e.pdf. ISSN-

15 Rochelle Turner, “Travel & Tourism: Economic Impact 2017 World,” World Travel & Tourism Council, accessed on September 21, 2018, https://www.wttc.org/- /media/files/reports/economic-impact-research/regions-2017/world2017.pdf.

16 Oliver Smith, “The unstoppable rise of the Chinese traveller – where are they going and what does it mean for over tourism?” The Telegraph, April 11 , 2018.

17 “Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2017 World, World Travel & Tourism Council, (March, 2017).

18 Asif Ezdi, A. “The rise of the Indian Ocean Rim,” THE NEWS, June 15, 2015.

Dhows in doldrums: a spotlight on an informal segment of Pakistan’s maritime economy

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Alifiya AunAli
Sajjad Ahmed Khrbey

Abstract

This paper elaborates upon the challenges faced by Dhow making industry in Pakistan, where dhows have always served as the traditional means of cargo transportation. Dhows have  also been useful in trade especially with secondary ports and war -torn countries of the Middle East and Africa. The decreasing trend in trade through dhows is affecting not only the maritime economy but also may lead to the extinction of traditional and customary knowledge of dhow making industry. Pakistan needs to ensure that policy gaps are filled to address the concerns of all stakeholders  and steps may be taken to identify it as a formal industry in the maritime economy.

Moreover, training and capacity building programs will also play an eminent role in generating relevant workforce for boosting the growth of the boat making industry. Active efforts are needed  for Public Private Partnership and incentivizing dhow trade also with the assurance of the availability  of required raw materials that would help in the revival of the industry. The utilization of modern technology, adequate facilities such as revision of port charges and availability of basic infrastructure are recommended to  excel the growth of this vital segment of maritime economy.

Keywords: Trade, wooden boats, traditional boats, sea-trade, flag- state, traditional art, voyage

1. INTRODUCTION

Boat-building is an ancient art that is as old as the period of Hazrat Nooh (Noah) (A.S); we all know over the rage, there has been a development in tools and technique, of course, but the process remains no less fascinating and enchanting.1 Approximately above 90% of international trade occurs via maritime transport by using either ocean transport, 2seaways or inland waterways, the role of maritime transportation is considered to be crucial in international trades.3 The maritime trade is undertaken through large, medium and small ships and boats/dhows. While talking about the maritime trade in the Indian Ocean the role of traditional wooden dhows cannot be overemphasized. These dhows sail throughout the year and especially are used with smaller secondary ports/anchorages. They have become a vital link with for trade with poor and war-torn countries like Somalia and Yemen.

In Pakistan, Dhows have been engaged in cargo transportation since historic times. The trade through dhows is operated by Trading Agents. These agents are listed with the local authorities and government agencies. Shippers’ complete paperwork and make payments in the agent’s office. These Trading Agents work on 3% of the freight value of the entire cargo as their commission. At present only three Trading Agents are engaged in the dhows trading business in Pakistan they are M/s Noor Sons, M/s Al- Faizan and Lateef Trading Company. Whereas there were more than twenty companies operating in the past in the said business, most companies have justify the business due to the downward trade trend. One of the dhow shipping agents stated that only 80 to 100 Dhows from different countries come to Pakistan annually for trading, whereas it was about 800 plus in the past (about 10 years back).

At present, not a single Pakistani Dhow is engaged in trading which means that all the Dhows engaged in the transportation of goods to and from Pakistan are not registered in Pakistan. They are mostly registered in Iran, UAE, Comoros, Togo, India etc. Registration of dhows in Pakistan was stopped in 2003 by the MMD department as quoted by one of the Trading Agents.4 Besides, there are many other challenges being faced by this very important economic activity. There is a growing fear and distress that the traditional knowledge of dhow making in Pakistan is in danger of becoming extinct. This segment of maritime economy plays a significant role thus it is considered very important to preserve the traditional knowledge, bring innovations and mainstream it at  parity with emergent international trends.

In mentioned context above, this paper suggests necessary measures to strengthen and uplift the status of traditional dhow making industry and its business in Pakistan by highlighting and underlining the importance of traditional knowledge and significance in overall maritime economy of Pakistan, Understanding various issues and modern international utilization trends.

The paper also employs qualitative research methodology and has scrutinized and examined the relevant primary and secondary sources of data / information by means of boat construction site visits and nine Key Informant Interviews of the relevant stakeholders of the industry i.e. Timber Merchants at Timber market, Boat Building Craftsman at Boat Building  Yard  at Machar Colony, Nakhodas (Captains) of Pakistani Dhows, the boat owner of biggest boat built in Pakistan, Dhows Trading Agents at Keamari, Nakhoda (Captain) of an Irani Dhow at Ghas Bandar Jetty KPT Karachi, Mercantile Marine Department Karachi, a Tour Operator at Marina Club DHA Karachi and a Trading Agent at Kharadar Karachi. Pictures were taken during the field visit of boat construction sites. Visits to the Boat construction sites’ were undertaken at Karachi and Gwadar for hands-on  observations.

Origin of Dhows: An Overview

The term ‘Dhows’ is derived from the 5 Arabic word dawa, these were traditional boats used in the Indian 6Ocean, Persian Gulf and Red Sea regions. These were originally sailing vessels which consisted of triangular sails. Conflicting theories also exist as to whether dhows originated in India, the 7Middle East or in 8East Africa; regardless of this, the dhow manufacturing industry had been traditionally one of the most vital manufacturing industries of the Persian Gulf region. 9The Chinese till date, uses traditional boats similar dhows, which go by the name of ‘Junks’. From as early as the 2nd century AD, junks were utilized to go to the sea, and they developed at a fast pace in the period of the Song dynasty, the Junk boats has been one of the major  inventions of the Song dynasty There are countless reasons why the junk boat is one of the most important inventions by the song dynasty but here are two main reasons first is its redesigned hull and rear rudders (960-1279). The dhows boat making has also been traditionally and customarily allied with the sub-continent region and was used for trade, this traditional art and skill has been a permanent part of the boat making industry of this region.

The wooden boats, that have become extinct in the global shipping arena, are still favourites in South Asia, which has an inconsiderable financial return for the builders and their customers. 10

Types of Dhows

Dhows are different from other traditional cargo ships in various aspects. One of these is due to their structure and shape. The Dhows are also simple in their design, which enables them to have more space for hull cargo. Dhows have been designed primarily for gulf-waters by enabling them to drift upon shallow waters and constructing them so that they are easily manoeuvrable. They also consist of triangular sails,  long  stems and sharp bows in order to make them seaworthy especially to the Monsoon season in the Indian Ocean. Over time, dhows have evolved. Engines have been incorporated including electric generators. Commercial cargoes today are transported via motorized dhows through the Indian Ocean. In few countries, dhows are also being partially constructed from fibre glass instead of wood; they are also getting bigger in size and some have also been custom-made as floating small luxury hotels/restaurants and even ferries.

There are numerous types of Dhows some for deep sea and some for shallow waters, which are used for all kinds of transportation and fishing. There are mainly 13 types of dhows with more than 200 distinctive designs.11 The Dhows are differentiated on the bases of their size and hull design as well as based on their  regional difference in both colours and ornamentation. The size of the largest boat being presently built has increased from 300-500 tons to 700-2000 tons or even more. Identification of Dhows according to their build, style or origin is not very simple thing. Each Dhow is unique with variation in size, shape, and colour. A Dhow’s wooden wheelhouse and other superstructures can be carved into traditional designs  and  customized  modifications which may be visible that vary from region to region. Traditional Dhows can be divided into 5 main categories i.e. Shu’ai Dhow (small or medium sized general purpose boat, range from 5 to 15 meters in length), Jalibut or Jelbut with square stern (advanced version of  the  Shu’ai  Dhow, ranging  up to 15 meters in   length),

Yemeni (small and medium sized boat, approximately 15 meters in length), Boum (large ‘ocean going’ Dhow, ranges from 15 to 35 meters or more in length) and Sambuq (other large Dhow). A boum in full sail is represented in the emblem of Kuwait emphasizing its traditional importance in the country, where it was used in the pearl industry, to carry fresh water and as a trading ship. Other dhows include Sambuk or Sambuq, Baghlah, Ghanjah or Kotiya, Jahazi or Jihazi, Battil, Barijah, Baqarah or baggarah (derived from the Arabic word for “cow”), Zaruq and Badan etc.

Basic Features of Different Types of Dhows

Few details of basic features of different types of Dhows as mentioned below:

a. Shu’ai A Shu’ai 12 Dhow is a small or medium sized general- purpose The sizes of these vessels range from 5 to 15 meters (18 – 50 feet) in length. It is used for cargo transportation and fishing. The boat has a particular curved profile, high and square at the stern, becomes low towards the bow and then ascends to a trademark extending pointed head. Shu’ai Dhow has a transom stern with decorative projections that stretch out beyond the hull as a continuation of the deck rail.

 

b. Yemeni This is a small and medium sized boat, approximately 15 meters (50 feet) in These boats are uniquely designed for fishing and are common along the Yemeni coastline. This Dhow has either a transom type or decreased high rising stern and a steep angled pointed bow.

 

c. Jalibut or Jelbut with square stern A   Jelbut   is   a  small to medium-sized Dhow, ranging up to 15 meters (50 feet) in It is the advanced version of the shu’ai with a shorter head stem piece. Most Jelbut Dhows are fitted with engines. The Jelbut is used in the trading and fishing industries and historically, was used extensively as a pearling vessel. The Jelbut Dhow fe atures a transom stern, with a short, rowed stem-piece rising vertically from the waterline, giving the vessel a rectangular bow profile. Pakistani boat builders make these types of boats.

d. Jalibut or jelbut with round stern This Dhow features a short-bow and a stern with a round shape. Except from the stern, the Dhow is similar to the Jelbut with the square

 

e. Boum or dhangi  The BOUM and the SAMBUQ are the two larges ‘ocean going’ The Boum is a large sized Dhow and ranges from 15 to 35 meters (50 – 115 feet) or more in length. These vessels are used as transport vessels for passengers and goods. A boum in full sail is represented in the emblem of Kuwait emphasizing its traditional importance in the country, where  it was used in the pearl industry, to carry fresh water and as a trading ship.

Divers often used to use this dhow as a diving boat as it has a tempered stern, The Boum had an imposing high bow on the original Arab style Boum which is trimmed in the latest version and the Indian version (known as Dhangi in India). It has an outboard rudder higher than the stern.

f. Sambuk or sambuq Being 38 meters  (124  feet),  the sambuq is one of the largest dhows and it can transport greater than 500 In the Middle East, these dhows are utilized for the transportation of passengers and cargo. They are also used in loading and unloading operations. The design of the sambuq originates from India and Europe; these dhows have a square or transom stern and previously consisted of detailed carvings.

Traditionally, a Sambuk had one or two masts, but nowadays they are motorized. It has been one of the most successful Dhows in history. It has a special keel design, with a sharp curve right below the top of the bow. The Sambuq either has a rounded or a squared stern.

Identification of Dhows by Origin

The different dhows can be identified by area where they have been built. 13Boat makers and designers are likely to build and decorate their Dhows in certain specific and distinctive patterns even though it is likely to fade with time as new materials, engines, size; cargo handling systems are also built-in in the modern built Dhows.

The Pakistani Dhows are often painted, and the designs done are more elaborate (blue or turquoise on the superstructure), and the hulls of the dhows are often shallower and slightly less rounded. Registration number is usually written on the hull under the superstructure and the name of the  vessel is also painted  at the same place.

Indian Dhows consist of a wide and rounded hull. These are plain boats, and the hull is not painted with a white superstructure. The registration number is painted white along with the side of the hull under the superstructure which, also incorporates the name of the vessel.

The Dhows of UAE are smaller than the Indian Dhows and are often more decorated. 14 These dhows are primarily used for recreation, for fishing and transportation of cargo transportation in the Middle Eastern region. They often have a noticeable “cutter” on the bow. Their hull is overextended and turns up sharply at the stern. However, few owners from UAE have started constructing their boats through Pakistani boat builders.

Yemeni Dhows are generally similar to UAE Dhows, a little smaller  than  the  Pakistan  and Indian Dhows and are often  less seagoing vessels. 15 These dhows usually take on to shorter trips to Djibouti, Somalia and the UAE. These boats are easy to manoeuvre and can be identified by the square hull at the stern with a low sweep towards the bow.

Traditional Boat Building in Pakistan – An Informal Industry

Wooden boats have been built in Pakistan traditionally since generations. It is an industry in the informal sector in which thousands of people are engaged. The sector employs boat designers, carpenters and vendors of various materials used in boat building. These boats are built in mostly in the cities like Karachi and Gwadar are used for the purpose of fishing and Cargo. The most popular area where Pakistani wooden boats are built in large number is the Boat Building Yard at the Karachi Fish Harbour Authority. In Karachi one will find the construction of various sizes of boats for the purpose of fishing and cargo transportation. In addition, these boats are also being built along the coastal belt of Karachi like Ibrahim Haideri, Younisabad and Machar Colony.

Pakistani craftsmen use various kinds of woods to build different sizes of boats for fishing and cargo transportation. 16Burma teak or teak from Indonesia is the ideal wood to use due to its longevity and sturdiness of the wooden dhows. Additionally, local wood types such as Keekar, Laachi and Saras are also used in the construction process. However, many of the workers in the yard expressed reservations that if deforestation in Pakistan continues with the same pace, the availability of wood for boats will become limited and more costly to procure.

The engines used in the wooden boats are imported from Singapore, China and some are smuggled from Afghanistan. Different woods apart from Burma Teak (local name Sagwan), Rosewood (local name Sheesham or Tali), Acacia Wood (commo nly known as Keekar), include Eucalyptus Wood (local name  Safeda), Balau Wood (grown in the Pacific-Asia region) and Bilinga Wood (alternate of Balau wood, imported from Africa).

Construction Process of Boats / Dhows

The Pakistani craftsmen make fishing boats and cargo  dhows for domestic and international clients. They also supply their products to Iran, 17Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and UAE. Pakistani boat builders do not require any technical drawings, graphs, or any type of design. They also do not even use modern gadgets/frames to make a boat. It is an inherited profession, and the skill is transferred from generation to generation to the workers who are carpenters and have learnt the boat construction skills from their forefathers. While building a normal boat for fishing  purposes, they use a team of 7 members, including some ‘Waada’  (carpenters) and for making a large size cargo boats, they require at least 20 skilled men. The prices of these boats fluctuate depending upon the requirement of the size and the quality of the wood to be used in the construction. These craftsmen built these vessels in multiple stages.

First to lay the boat’s foundation, first the craftsmen cuts the selected trunk of the tree for the keel of the boat, they call it “Pathan” or “Tar”. Then they cut the Forefoot and Sternpost ‘Agla Mora’ and ‘Pichla Mora’ of the boat and join them with keel. After that they place the Ribs – the internal wooden structure of the boat, locally known as ‘Dhancha’. For this, they mostly use Pakistani wood ‘Taali/Sheesham (Rosewood) or Keekar (Acacia).

On the completion of the internal structure, they start attaching the outside wooden hull in a curved shape with wooden planks which are fixed with nuts and bolts. For the hull of the boat, they use the ‘Bilinga’ wood, which is imported from Malaysia and South Africa. When the outer hull is completed, they start fixing the pillars and beams for placing the deck (floor of the boat) on it. These pillars and beams are normally of wood, but iron girders are also used in medium and large boats. In the cargo boats (Dhows) they make two additional decks at the stern of the boat.

Subsequently, various compartments are then constructed  in the boat comprising of a galley, an Engine room, Control/Steering room, one or two Washrooms, Captain/ Nakoah room and Rest Room for the crew. The major space of the boat is utilized for the storage of cargo. Constructions of these compartments depend on the size and availability of the space on the boat. A small boat doesn’t have such luxuries, it only has a small space for a toilet and cooking.

They also apply fish fats (mixed with some chemicals) on the outer part of the boat’s hulls which remain in the water. These fish fats improve the durability of wood from adverse effects of the sea water and make it waterproof. To make the boat beautiful, paintwork, traditional carvings and other finishing work on the various parts of the boat is done. The boat is then lowered down into the sea water for the final touch ups and installation of engine, propellers, generators, electrical/ mechanical gear and accessories.

The hull of Dhows is constructed deeper for storing a maximum quantity of cargo, which make the dhows more stable and balanced as compared to other boats. The construction of these boats can take up from 06 months to 24 months on average depending on the size of the boat subject to availability of finances with the owner of the boat. Figures 1 to 3 show different steps of dhow construction in Pakistan.

Figure 1: Laying Keel of the Boat with Forefoot and Sternpost. (Source:  NCMPR Depository) Figure 2: Fixing Wooden Wall on the Ribs of the Boat.(Source: NCMPR Depository)

Financial Aspects and Various Economic Practices in Boat Building Business

The price of a small boat starts from one million and it can go  up to more than 15 million. The cost of the boat building is directly proportional to the size of the boat built, quality of wood being utilized, engines and other related materials, whereas the cost of a medium/large sized boat would be approx. Rs. 100-150 million or in some cases more. The largest boat recently built in Karachi is for 2000 tons. This cargo boat (Dhow) is 175 feet long, 25 feet deep and 55 feet wide and to date has cost Rs. 110 million, whereas 2 x engines, a generator, a crane and other related accessories of the boat are yet to be installed on which a further amount of approximately Rs.40 to 60 million will be required. Unfortunately, due to lack of any governmental / Institutional support, the large dhows are towed to Dubai for engine fittings.

It is imperative to mention that due to the non-availability of proper dhow building quays and lowering machinery/cranes, these owners have to bear substantial expenditure on the lowering of medium of large boats in the Sea. One of the craftsmen informed that they had recently had to pay approximately Rs.8 million on just lowering of a 2000 ton boat into the sea.

Working Practices for Boat Building Industry

There is no proper boat building company in Pakistan, mostly the boat building is undertaken by few artisans who are known by word of mouth and are well reputed due to their class of work and quality, and this is the reason that demands for Pakistani boats and Craftsmen is increasing especially in Dubai, Iran and other countries. The boat building crew in Pakistan professionally do not follow any blueprint or drawing while constructing the boats. 19They have learnt by heart their methods and do not need any graphs, pictures or drawings to guide their hand. Since drawings, charts, and layouts are unusual objects for these craftsmen, they usually ask the owner’s requirements in detail while booking their orders. Normally they ask about the material that is to be used, especially the wood, the size of the boat and other things related to the boat building. Regardless of the conventional system construction used by the labour, the Pakistani Boat Building is known for its skilled craftsmanship.

Currently, most of the builders are taking orders for cargo vessels since the demand for fishing boats have decreased; this is due to a range of reasons, including the continuous use of over- aged vessels. The life of wooden boats is also much longer usability than fibre glass boats as per the perception prevailing in Dhow owners. The average life of these boats is approximately 25 years and a large number of fishermen procure old vessels as most of them cannot afford the new ones. On average 30 to 40 boats for the purpose of fishing and cargo are built every year. This is over and above the repair work in the yard that rarely comes to an end. The Karachi Fish Harbour Authority (KFHA) charges Rs 100/- per boat (per day) from boat builders for providing space in the Boat Building Yard.

Crew Management & Payment Methods

The Number of crew members for a Dhow construction varies from 5-30 in number, depending on the size and usage of the Dhow. Smaller Dhows may require 5-10 members, average or standard sized dhows may have 12-18 crew members and large Dhows may have 20-30. Even today, the general crew is often comprised of individuals without formal seamanship or fishery training. A few of the captains/Nakhoda20, are the owners of the boats, and the crew is somewhat poorly paid.

In the past, Arabs have traditionally been part of the Arabian dhows crew, but today their participation has declined. Today most Dhows consist of Indian, Pakistani and Iranian crew. Dubai and Comoros dhows are fully manned by Pakistani crew, whereas Iranian dhows have 5-10% Pakistani crew. Indian and Pakistani Dhows are manned by the local crew.

The Pakistani Dhow crew is either paid on a daily or a weekly basis. Currently, they are getting paid Rs.1200 – 1500 per day and the captain of the dhow gets double of that amount. The other system of payment to the crew is to divide the income of the dhow into three parts; after deducting the entire expenditure of fuel, spares and provisions, the owner gets two parts while the rest is distributed amongst the crew and the Captain is paid double that of the crew.

Registration of Boats and Flag State

Dhows fly flags of those states in which they are registered; at present there have been an increasing number of owners who are registering their vessels in flag of convenience States, with mostly with the owner situated in other country than that of the flag state. However, the state flag is flown in international waters; while in the national waters of any country, the  Dhow flies the local flag of the country, the Dhow is in the country of. This is to primarily escape the local taxations and is a local practice which is not recognized under International law.

Pakistani boat builders despite having built so many dhows but not a single dhow is Pakistani flagged. All Pakistani Dhows are flagged in the state of convenience, mostly in Dubai, or few of them in Comoros and Togo.22 Some of the Pakistani dhow holders have tried in the past to get their dhows registered in Pakistan, but there is no well-defined and clear procedure with Mercantile Marine Department (MMD) for registration of cargo Dhows, however, the department is registering fishing boats. The MMD officials were approached with the query; they have indicated to resolve the said issue on priority.

Trade through Dhows in Pakistan

Commodities which are being imported to Pakistan through the Dhows include machinery, motor vehicles (reconditioned), electronic equipment/gadgetries, animals, general items and personal baggage from UAE, Muscat, Kuwait  and  Somalia. Limited export is being undertaken through Dhows which comprises of rice, flour, fruits etc. to, Somalia, Yemen, Iran, UAE and all the Gulf Countries. Previously, animals were also exported from Pakistan but now a ban has been imposed on animals’ import and export. Napier Mole Jetty (Ghas Bandar) is dedicated at KPT (Karachi Port Trust) for the Embarkation/Disembarkation of  cargo. Only 4 to 6 Dhows can be accommodated on this jetty depending on the size of the boats. The remaining can be adjusted alongside the boats. All cargo on the Dhows is manually handled by shore labour. The cargo of these boats generally carries smaller packages which can be manually loaded and discharged. The labourers at the dock physically carry the goods up and down the boat, for the heavier packages either the Dhow’s lifter or shore cranes are used to do the job.

 

Fig 5: Cargo arrived by a truck, for dhows at Ghas. Bandar
(Source:  NCMPR Depository)
Fig 6: Labourers loading cargo on
dhows at Ghas Bandar (Source:  NCMPR Depository)

The following shortcomings / problems regarding port facilitie s were highlighted during an interview with a Captain of a dhow. These issues need immediate attention for the improvement of trade through dhows:24  25

  1. Port charges are on the higher side and need to be
  2. Facilities especially bathrooms are in very poor
  3. No fresh water supply line is available at the
  4. Heavy amount is being charged by KPT for the permit to supply rations and fresh water through dedicated
  5. Large boats of 1800 tons and above cannot come at the Jetty due to less depth as dredging is required at Ghas26

Modern Utilization Trends of Dhows

Pakistani Dhows are commonly utilized either for fishing or Cargo transportation. Whereas Dhows are being used for many purposes internationally and are a good source of  earning including foreign exchange. For instance, Maldivian Dhows locally known as “Dhonis” are utilized for live aboard floating hotels and as ferries for excursion trips. These Dhows are constructed beautifully, having all modern luxuries required by the foreign tourists from all over the globe. During a visit to Marina Club DHA, Karachi, it has been noted that few Dhows stationed at anchor have been converted from fishing boats into excursion boats and have cabins, kitchens, washrooms and  other  required facilities. These boats (captured by Law enforcement agencies) were purchased in auction and were converted into recreational boats for family picnics by the private owners. It is worth mentioning here that these types of boats can be utilized and operated by the tourism department or it can be operated by private tour operators for locals and foreign tourists and can be a good source to generate revenue and income.

Recommendations

Pakistan is at the forefront of traditional Boat Building in the region, however other regional centres are emerging due to lack of support from the Government. In order to save Dhow businesses in Pakistan, the following recommendations are  mentioned:

  1. The government needs to revisit the existing governance gaps and make friendly policies to the boat constructors and tour operators in order to promote this sector and mainstream this neglected sector of maritime economy by declaring it as a mainstream
  2. The Karachi Fish Harbour Authority (KFHA) needs to provide better facilities to the boat builders at the Boat Building Yard. Apart from the provision of utilities and other basic services, the most important requirement is to establish a permanent launching machinery/ infrastructure for lowering down of the constructed boats into the Boat builders can pay some additional charges to avail this facility as presently they are paying a substantial amount for this aforementioned purpose, which increases the overall boat building cost.
  3. The government needs to provide consultancy facilities to the boat builders by hiring qualified experts in boat designing and building business and ensure availability of proper drawing/ layouts for building good quality boats using modern, Moreover, on long term basis courses may be introduced at technical colleges/ University level for producing Architectures/ Engineers with specialization in boat building.
  4. The government needs to encourage the private sector by providing them certain incentives to start ferry services and recreational facilities for the masses through
  5. The government also needs to be responsible for the motivations to the exporters to trade through dhows in the region as due to it being cost-effective in its nature their exports will be more
  6. Today, the wooden boat industry is not feasible and not much profitable due to the unavailability of good quality Initially, boats were made up of Burma teak, which is not affordable now; then our boat builders started using Sheesham wood which is also becoming non-existent; then they started using Balau wood which they imported from Malaysia, which is also not available now in the market. In the international market, the wooden boats are dominated by luxury yachts at the higher market end and  provide smooth sail and  high-performance boats at the lower end. People are using carbon fibre composites to reduce weight and drag and modern, efficient engines, and modern scientific techniques to improve performance. If Pakistan wants to increase her share in the market, it needs to come into the fibre boat industry and train and build capacity of its human resource and make them adaptable to use modern techniques and practises.
  7. There are some great opportunities for ships/boat and Dhows Building in Gwadar: as presently the city of Gwadar has a modest wooden boat building yard with top-notch skills and excellent manufacturing output 27
  8. Cargo Dhows coming to Karachi from various countries are stationed at the NMB Wharf (locally known as Ghass Bandar) for the loading and unloading of the cargo where insufficient facilities are available. The Port Authority has to make  improvements in the following areas to promote/increase the growth of this informal but  important segment of maritime

a. Port charges are considerably on the higher side and needs to be reduced from the current

b. The Water Supply is not available at the jetty. Dhow agents arrange water bowsers and ration from They pay additional wharfage to the Port Authorities for taking these water bowsers and ration trucks to the Port area, where the dhows are docked which makes the water and ration expensive. The Port Authority is required to arrange the water supply through pipe lines as it is being provided to the bigger ships.

References

1 Mehar-un-nisa, “Boat craftsmanship: A rising tide.” The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, August 16, 2015.

2 Peter Vine, Pearls in Arabian Waters: The Heritage of Bahrain. (London: Immel, 1986.)

3 Funda Yercan and Turkay Yildiz, “International Maritime and Trade logistics”, Maritime Logistics: A Complete Guide to Effective Shipping and Port Management, 3 (2012): 23-44.

4 Interview with the representatives of Irfan M. M/s Noor sons Trading Agent Comp any, 6 August, 2019.

5 Dhow native vessel used on the Arabian Sea. XIX. ult. orig. unkn.; in Marathi as d??wa in Arabic as d?wa.

6 Malcolm C. peck, Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa Peck, (2020)

7 Laith Ulaby, “On the Decks of Dhows: Musical Traditions of Oman and the Indian Ocean World.” The World of Music, 1,2 (2012): 43-62.

8 Poonam Bala, “Dhow Cultures of the Indian Ocean: Cosmopolitanism, Commerce and Islam.” African Historical Review, 44:1,(2012): 138-142.

9 The mariners’ museum and park, “Junk Ship” https://exploration.marinersmuseum.org/ watercraft/junk-ship/, accessed on 24.9.2019

10 Mansoor Hassan, “Wooden boats still alive in South Asia”. Dawn News, February 18, 2018.

11 “NATO Identification guide for Dhows, Skiffs and Whalers in the High Risk Area,” NATO Shipping Centre, accessed September 24, 2019, http://maritimeconnector.com/documents/NATO_Guidance.pdf

12 “ NATO Identification guide”

13 Carl Waldman, and Alan Wexler, Encyclopedia of Exploration, Vol. 1-2., (New York: Facts on File, 2004)

14 Shirley Kay, Bahrain: Island Heritage. Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Motivate Pub, 1989).

15 Dionisius A. Agius, John P. Cooper, and Chiara Zazzaro, “The Maritime Heritage of Yemen: A Focus on Traditional Wooden ‘Dhows’,” Archaeopress Archaeology, (2014): 143–157.

16 Mehar-un-nisa, “Boat craftsmanship: A rising tide.”

17 Alan Villiers, “Some Aspects of the Arab Dhow Trade”, Middle East Journal, 2, no.4, (1948), 399-416, https://www.jstor.org/stable/4322010.

18 Muhammad Usman, Boat Building Craftsman at Boat Building Yard, Machar Colony Karachi, July 2019.

19 Khurshid Ahmed, “Pakistan’s craftsmen build boats without layouts and sketches”, Arab News Pakistan, February 11, 2018, https://www.arabnews.pk/node/1244106/pakistan.

20 Nakhodi is a term originating from the Persian language which literally means Captain. … Derived from n?v boat (from Old Persian) + khud? master, from Middle Persian khut?i a ‘master of a native vessel’ or ‘Lord of the Ship’.

21 Younus M, and Buksh M, Nakoha (Captain), Dhow, July, 2019.

22, Anwar M of M/s Noor Sons, and Pervaiz M of M/s Al Faizan, Dhows Trading Agents Karachi, June, 2019.

23 Captain Shaheen A, Mercantile, Marine Department, Karachi July, 2019.

24 Anwar M of M/s Noor Sons and Pervaiz M of M/s Al Faizan Dhows Trading Agents Karachi, June, 2019.

25 Ghani A. a Nakoha (Captain) of a Irani Dhow at Ghas Bandar Jetty KPT Karachi, June, 2019/

27 Naghmana Zafar, “World Bank’s PROBLUE Plan and opportunities for Pakistan,” The Financial Daily, views and opinions, January 20, 2020.

Commodore (Retd) Ali Abbas SI(M)

Commodore (Retd) Ali Abbas SI(M)

Director, NIMA Karachi

Cdre (Retd) Ali Abbas SI(M) had an illustrious career in Navy with vast experience of high profile operational, training and staff appointments. After leaving Navy in 2017, the Commodore served as Director Bahria University Karachi Campus. Presently he is Director at National Institute of Maritime Affairs (NIMA) Karachi a premier maritime think tank and a constituent unit of Bahria University. Commodore (Retd) Ali Abbas SI(M) has undergone various professional and academic courses both inland and abroad. He completed his Naval Staff Course from PN War, Lahore in 1998 and later did Armed Forces War Course form National Defence University, Islamabad in 2009/10. In the meantime, the Commodore also attended and graduated from National Defence University, Beijing in 2006/07. He holds MS degree in Project Management and an MSc degree in “War Studies & Defence Management”. Besides this, he also holds two BSc Honours degrees from Karachi University and a Post Graduate Diploma in Defence and Strategic Studies from NDU Beijing. His other relevant experiences include project management of PN Frigates and corvettes in China. He attended Force Generation Conference at US NAVCENT Bahrain in 2010 and Counter Piracy Conference at Dubai in 2013 and later commanded multinational task force in the Indian Ocean. Besides having interest in Naval Strategy and Operations, the Commodore has great enthusiasm for general history, culture and economics. Presently he is engaged in Research oriented activities at NIMA(K).