JEWEL OF MUSCAT TO REACH MALAYSIAN WATERS IN JUNE

By P. Vijian

NEW DELHI, March 29 (Bernama) -- The Jewel of Muscat, a replica of the
ninth-century Arabian ship, is expected to reach Malaysian waters in early June,
before concluding its voyage in Singapore.

The 18-metre ship, constructed without a single nail at a shipyard in Qantab
in
Oman, arrived at Cochin Port early this month and is scheduled to sail to
Galle, in the southern tip of Sri Lanka soon.

The arrival date in Malaysia would depend upon the commencement of the
southwest monsoon winds that starts in early May, currently the planned
departure time of the ship from Sri Lanka.

"It will take approximately four weeks to reach Georgetown, around the first
week in June, and it will be the first port of call in Malaysia.

"The current plan is to remain in Georgetown for about a week, then sail to
Melaka which will take another week," a spokesman for the Jewel of Muscat
(JoM) told Bernama.

It is slated to anchor in Melaka for about week before continuing its voyage
to Singapore.

The ship was designed based on the sunken ninth-century Arabian ship that
was discovered by Indonesian fishermen in 1998, off the island of Belitung,
reported to have sunk with 60,000 pieces of ancient Chinese porcelain.

The unique ship was built with planks that were sewn together with coconut
fibre, and a layer of goat fat mixed with lime was applied to protect the wood.

Using ancient navigation techniques, its crew would sail via similar routes
taken by the Arab seamen, from Oman sea, into Arabian Sea, western coast of
India, to Sri Lanka, across the Bay of Bengal, Melaka Straits and finally to
Singapore.

The JoM is a special historical and cultural initiative jointly promoted by
the Oman and Singapore governments.

-- BERNAMA