Dubai Police responds to 65 distress calls at sea through its Sail Safely service

The Dubai Police responded to 65 distress calls sent from small boats and large vessels through its Sail Safely maritime help service.

Teams from the Maritime Rescue Department at the Ports Police Station attended to the emergency calls and helped navigate a number of crafts to safety using artificial intelligence and mapping technologies.

Using the mobile app on Android and iPhone, officers also sent out weather warnings to registered users alerting them of real-time sea conditions and hazards.

Launched two years ago, Sail Safely has 3,715 users, including boat owners and captains who downloaded the application to safeguard their craft and crew when out at sea.

Users have free access to interactive marine maps and can receive alerts about local emergencies including drownings, collisions, shortage of fuel, or boat malfunction.

The Sail Safely service can track a journey, warn users about any delays during a trip, identify hazards, send distress requests directly to the Dubai Police, facilitate rapid emergency response, determine the location of those in distress, as well as the type and degree of distress severity.

Lt Col Ali Al Naqbi, head of the Maritime Rescue Department, said the authority has readied numerous marine rescue and security boats across eight maritime rescue points in the city including Al Hamriya, Deira Port –Hyatt Regency, Dubai Creek –Al Maktoum Bridge, the Floating Bridge, Fishing Harbour 1- Jumeirah 1, Fishing Harbour 2 – Jumeirah 4, Fishing Harbour 3 –Umm Suqeim, and Dubai Eye.