Jewel of Muscat

The President of Singapore His Excellency S.R. Nathan today officially launched the website www.jewelofmuscat.tv, bringing web TV to Oman.

The website was unveiled in a ceremony at Qantab beach where the Jewel of Muscat project is now underway, to reconstruct a 9th century sewn ship and sail it to Singapore.

President Nathan and Mrs Nathan visited the site as part of his State visit to Oman. He was received by H.E. Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Albusaidi, Secretary General of the Oman Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the visit the President also met key members of the project team including Construction Director, Tom Vosmer and Media Director, Simon Gallimore.

The Jewel of Muscat is a joint venture between Oman and Singapore. It aims to recreate an early sewn-plank boat of the type that traded between China and Oman more than 1,000 years ago.

The web TV site will capture every stage of the construction and voyage of the boat in videos that can be watched by audiences round the world.

The ship's construction and voyage will be further documented in a two-hour special airing in 164 countries on National Geographic Channel.

The website contains a wealth of information about the project and its background with text, photos, a timeline and personal logs from the construction team.

Over the coming months new sections will be added to provide a major education resource for students in Oman, Singapore and the rest of the world to learn about history, geography and science by following the story of the ship.
There will also be an archive section to preserve the skills and techniques of sewn ship construction.

Speaking at the launch H.E. Sayyid Badr said: “The launch of this website opens up exciting new possibilities to tell the world about this exciting project, our rich maritime heritage and the historical links between Arabia and the Far East.”

The Singaporean President was accompanied by a number of dignitaries including H.E. Maqbool bin Ali bin Sultan, Oman's Minister of Commerce and Industry, Dr Lee Boom Yang, Singapore’s Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts and Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed Senior Minister of State in Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

For further information visit www.jewelofmuscat.tv and see the attached briefing notes.

All Media Inquires to:

Zakariya Al-Saadi, Oman Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Tel : 00 968 9280 6000
Email : zakalsaadi@hotmail.com

Briefing Notes

www.jewelofmuscat.tv has been developed by the MFA working in partnership with UK Web TV specialists Inclusive Digital Ltd (www.inclusivedigital.tv ). It uses the latest Flash video player technology to deliver a high quality video on demand experience over the internet. The website is available in both Arabic and English versions.

The design of the Jewel of Muscat is based on the Belitung shipwreck, the only one of its kind ever discovered, excavated in 1998. The wreck’s construction showed that it was built by western Indian Ocean shipwrights, quite possibly in Oman.

When it struck a reef and sank, the ship was returning from China to the Middle East with the Tang Treasure, some 60,000 pieces of Tang Dynasty ceramics, and gold and silver vessels.

National Geographic Channel is also airing a documentary on the Tang Treasure and there will be a feature in National Geographic Magazine.

Jewel of Muscat is due to be launched in September 2009. After crew training and sea trials, it is planned that the ship will sail in February 2010 from Oman to Singapore where the ship will be handed over to the people of Singapore as a gift from the Sultanate of Oman.

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