Jewel of Muscat’s heroic voyage accorded tributes

MUSCAT: Fifth anniversary of the epic voyage of Jewel of Muscat was celebrated at the Diplomatic Club yesterday.

His Highness Sayyid Fatik bin Fahr Al Said was the guest of honour for the function organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A short video on the epic voyage of the Jewel of Muscat was showed to the guests.

The ‘Jewel of Muscat’ is a reconstructed 9th-century ship, based on archaeological findings of the Belitung Wreck, which was dis- covered off the Indonesian coast in 1998, with a cargo that included gold and silver treasures and ceramics from China and Arabia.

On February 16, 2010, the reconstructed ‘Jewel of Muscat’ set off from Oman, re-tracing ancient sea routes on its epic voyage to Singapore. During the voyage, the crew of 15 sailors, captained by Saleh Said Al Jabri, used traditional 9th- century navigation tools as well as modern techniques to further the understanding of the ancient means of navigation.

Arriving in Singapore 138 days later, on July 3, the ship was presented as a Royal gift from His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said to the people of Singapore and is now on permanent display at their Maritime Experimental Museum.

A book about the voyage of the Jewel of Muscat was launched at the function. Megan Furman, the author of the book, handed it over to His Highness Sayyid Fatik bin Fahr Al Said, the guest of honour.