Dubai Maritime Authority (DMA), part of the Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC), has launched a regulatory initiative to update and standardise the guidelines governing leisure anchoring and recreational mooring buoys in Dubai waters.
The move forms part of the authority’s efforts to strengthen navigational safety, create a clear regulatory environment and support the sustainable growth of the emirate’s recreational marine sector.
The initiative includes the announcement of Circular No. 35 of 2026, which sets out guidelines for leisure anchorage and recreational mooring buoys ahead of its implementation. It offers a unified framework for marine craft owners, operators and their agents, marinas and marine service providers, with the aim of ensuring safe and orderly anchoring that meets safety and environmental protection requirements.
Sheikh Dr. Saeed bin Ahmed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, CEO of DMA, said the initiative ensures the orderly use of anchoring areas and buoys, and that regulations and guidance are clear to all stakeholders.
The authority is monitoring implementation to ensure compliance with anchoring requirements, navigational safety rules, including collision prevention regulations and the principles of good seamanship, and marine environment protection. It also stressed that incidents and emergencies must be reported immediately so they can be handled quickly.
DMA said compliance is a shared responsibility of everyone venturing out to sea, and that the circular will be applied in coordination with all relevant entities.
News Source: Emirates News Agency
