Muscat: The Ministry of Transport, Communications, and Information Technology (MTCIT) said that some fishing boat owners have been involved in unauthorized activity by transporting passengers from the Shannah Port to Masirah and vice versa.
It added that these boats lack the minimum requirements of maritime safety for the transportation of passengers as stipulated in ministerial decisions that regulate the operations of marine units.
MTCIT warned the owners of the mentioned boats to comply with regulations and engage in any unauthorized activities to avoid any accountability, which includes fines.
“It is possible for anyone who has a desire to practice the activity of passenger transport or water taxi to obtain a licence from competent authorities.”
As part of the long-term plans to revamp the public transport system in line with changing times, MoTCIT issued a decision No 33/2022 on regulating water taxis based on the Maritime Law. The decision states that water taxis will be used to transport people for an agreed fee, following approval from the Maritime Authority.
Some of the requirements include that the company must be commercially registered, must have a licence to practice the activity of water taxi by fare, certificate of origin of the marine water taxi unit, proof of ownership, age of the taxi unit shall be not more than 15 years from the date of its construction or reconstruction, except for those with fiberglass, customs release statement if the unit was purchased from outside the Sultanate of Oman, a comprehensive insurance document of its crew and passengers, licensing of radio communication equipment, a copy of the passport or ID card of the captain.