UAE To Launch Second Ferry Service to Iraq

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) plans to launch a second passenger ferry service to sanctions-hit Iraq soon in a sign of growing ties between the two Arab countries. A UAE official said a Dubai-based private company had obtained United Nations approval for the direct and faster ferry service from Dubai to Iraq's Umm Qasr port, which could start within one month. In 1998 Dubai launched a passenger ferry service to Iraq, which had since included a stop in Bahrain. The official said unlike the Jebel Ali 1 ferry, which takes up to 40 hours to reach its destination, the new sealiner would take about 15 hours to reach Umm Qasr.