JEDDAH – Saudi boat owners in Obhur and other parts of Jeddah have complained about a steep rise in dockage charges at private marinas as well as a hike in operation charges. They urged the government to establish harbors for them to dock their boats free of charge. The boat owners also stressed the need to set up a committee comprising representatives from the Commerce Ministry, Border Guard and Transport Ministry to resolve the issue of rising charges, which have tripled from SR6,000 to SR16,000 in 10 years. Wael Hasballah, a boat owner, said marina owners are charging SR1,700 per meter of dockage. "A medium boat will have a length of eight to nine meters, thus the annual parking charge will reach SR16,000," he said, while urging authorities to intervene to bring down rents. Wajdi Al-Hutami, another boat owner, said marina authorities charge high rents for nominal services such as guards to supervise the marina in the evening and supply of clean water to wash boats. "We have to buy a tracking device, which costs $1,000, to get a license from the ministry." Ehab Hassan blamed foreign investors for the increase in dockage charges. Some Saudis give their boats to expatriates to operate asking them to pay a specific amount monthly. "This illegal system has affected the business of Saudi boat owners," he said. Boat prices range from SR110,000 to SR125,000 with an additional SR35,000 required for the engine and other basic components. It costs more than SR10,000 to purchase a locater, depth finder, sail and lights. Ahmed Mohammed Sait, manager of Kanz Obhur Marina, said dockage charges were increased due to a hike in rents. "If we stick to the earlier charges we will suffer heavy losses. When the rents go up 100 percent we have to raise the charges 100 percent. For example, if the rent was SR16,000, we need to increase it to SR32,000 but we don't do that and we raise fees gradually," he said while defending the move to ask boat owners to cover operation charges.
