Dubai certainly offers many extraordinary sights and spectacles to behold and cherish for a lifetime. There is no reason for tourists to miss those grand and fascinating things across the city, but there’s always a hidden excitement about going off-the-beaten-path.
Visiting Umm Al Quwain can be a great start to your quest for something unique with Kite Beach Center, Al Ali Fort, Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Park and Khor Al Beida. However, today we take a look at UAQ’s most unique attractions of all, Umm Al Quwain Shipwreck.
How Did a 5,000 Ton Oil Tanker End up on Umm Al Quwain Beach?
For the last five years, it’s a common thing for kayak boarders and kite surfers to watch a massive container ship sitting idle on the shallow water of Umm Al Quwain coast. However, this 5,000 ton oil-tanker is associated with a harrowing incident of seafarer abandonment.
This all started when the vessel transporting fuel oil suffered an engine failure before it could reach the shore. Luckily, there was no report of casualty or injuries.
This Panama-flagged vessel, MT Iba along with five crew members, was soon abandoned by the owner, Alco Shipping. Since that day, all the crew members in the ship are in limbo.
In spite of being just a few meters away from the shore, they can’t land in the territory of UAE without proper legal permission.
Amazingly, the crew have been stranded at the shore of Umm Al Quwain beach for nearly 5 years. 32 months of ‘no payment’ have made their lives living hell. They are relying on charities to have food and drinking water and several authorities are trying to end this ordeal through international discussion and legitimate solutions.
Reasons to Visit UAQ Beach and The Shipwreck
Umm Al Quwain beach is not at all crowded. Walking along the shore in the early morning hours is going to be spectacular as you can hardly spot any other person around. Yes, it is that quiet and secluded.
Umm Al Quwain is best known for exceptionally rewarding kite surfing and mangrove kayaking opportunities. What’s more, there are a bunch of tour operators in Umm Al Quwain to make surfing and kayaking arrangements for you.
If you’re looking for more paradise like beach vibes and chill, with top quality food, then heading for Kite Beach Centre will be a fantastic idea.
Umm Al Quwain Beach to Dubai & Sharjah
The distance between Umm Al Quwain and Dubai is around 60 kilometres. This is not at all a considerable distance to witness a peaceful beach paired with an abandoned shipwreck. It is a 32-kilometre road distance from Sharjah.
How to Get to Umm Al Quwain Beach from Dubai
If you are thinking of traveling to Umm Al Quwain from Dubai with help of public transportation, you can board the Line 102, Line 103 and Line 24 bus. Bus journeys are very much comfortable apart from being reasonable. It costs anything from 20AED to 30AED per person.
You can also hire a taxi from Dubai to reach Umm Al Quwain Beach. This is surely the fastest way of reaching the beach from the city. Hiring a taxi for Umm Al Quwain from Dubai will cost you around 125AED.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a different sort of attraction to those commonly found in Dubai then don’t hesitate to step outside the city limits.
Umm Al Quwain Beach, Kite Beach Center and the local Ship Wreck offer visitors a little something different on their visit here.
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