NEWS FROM THE UAE
SOURCE : THE NATIONAL

Iris scans catching what eyes miss

ABU DHABI - FEB. 13: More than 300,000 people deported from the UAE have been caught trying to re-enter the country by officials using iris-scanning technology introduced just over five years ago.

All UAE borders and airports now use the technology, to combat smuggling, fake passports and human trafficking.

In 2003, the system’s first year, 4,514 people were caught trying to come back illegally; since then the totals have soared as more and more people have been added to the iris database.

Brig Gharib al Hosani, Abu Dhabi’s director of airports and border security, said the people stopped were among more than one million whose unique iris scans were now stored on the database.

He said they were caught trying to re-enter the country after being deported for reasons including absconding from work, criminal offences or after testing positive for diseases such as Aids.

“Sometimes there are people who come by different names in their passport, but of course their irises are the same,” he said, adding that the initiative had been “very successful”.

The numbers of people caught show a steady climb: they reached 20,990 in 2004, 57,246 in 2006 and 122,661 in 2008, according to the airports and border security police. This year, up to Feb 11, more than 13,200 people were caught, bringing the total since the scanning technology was introduced to 331,679.

Brig al Hosani declined to say which nationalities topped the list of deportees caught trying to re-enter the country.

At a security symposium in the capital last month, he published a paper outlining some of the security challenges facing officials at the UAE’s 27 air, land and sea entry points.

Several delegates cited the UAE’s introduction of iris scanning at its borders in 2003 as a particularly successful initiative. Other countries in the Middle East are following its example.

Brig Gen Mohammed al Rumaithi, the director general of security affairs and ports at Abu Dhabi Police, said the biggest challenge that port security faced was fake passports. Technologies such as iris scanning and electronic face recognition helped to overcome the problem.

Electronic face recognition was introduced at Abu Dhabi International Airport last July and Brig Gen al Rumaithi said it had enhanced security.

In 2008, a total of 3,987 cases of identity fraud, arms and drug smuggling were caught in Abu Dhabi’s airports and borders; 2,552 of them were at Abu Dhabi International Airport, 53 at Al Ain airport and 1,382 at the borders.

Drugs topped the list of smuggling cases, but there were rare cases of arms smuggling. “Mostly people try to smuggle personal guns through the borders,” said Brig Gen al Rumaithi. His department was constantly seeking to add new technologies that help increase security, as instructed by Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Minister of Interior, he added. However, Brig Gen al Rumaithi stressed that the Government was also keen on introducing new technologies to speed up procedures for travellers.

Recently, surveillance cameras were added to Al Mudeef crossing, while iris scanning facilities have been added at Khatam al Shakla checkpoint near Al Ain.

Three million passengers entered the country across various borders last year, while 728,000 vehicles entered though Khatam al Shakla and Al Ghuweifat borders.

Sandstorms sweep across region

DUBAI - FEB. 13: A strong sandstorm reduced visibility throughout the region on Thursday, causing some disruption in cities and parks but delivering near-ideal conditions for surfers who scurried to the beaches.

Clive Stevens, the duty forecaster at the Dubai Meteorological Office, said the shamal started in Iraq and northern Saudi Arabia on Wednesday morning and later spread across the entire Arabian Peninsula.

“In Kuwait they were reporting 100-metre visibility and 30-knot winds,” he said.
The storm moved on to Riyadh, reached Bahrain at about 11am, and then battered Doha in the mid-afternoon, he said. It hit Abu Dhabi at around 9pm on Wednesday night and Dubai around midnight.

Visibility in the capital yesterday was down to 500 metres, he said, while in Dubai it was around 1.5 kilometres.

“Most of the fine dust is picked up over Iraq; it is silt from the Euphrates Basin,” Mr Stevens said. “One interesting thing has been the change in temperature. On Wednesday it was 32 degrees in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and on Thursday it was 22; a 10-degree drop is a lot in such a short space of time.”

Offshore, the wind was reaching speeds of up to 65kph, he said.

In Dubai, surfers took advantage of the strong winds and headed to Burj al Arab open beach at dawn, drawn by waves as high as two meters in some places.

“It was huge and messy with breaking all over,” said Doreen Berg, a German expatriate. “The waves were so fierce that I couldn’t get out to where the first break was taking place.”

Andrew Jones, a recent arrival from the US West Coast, was looking forward to the winter swell.

“It’s pumping out there and you get pounded every three to four seconds by an incoming wave,” he said. “Today is messy because the winds that bring the waves also disrupt them, but when the wind drops later tomorrow then there will be perfect surfing conditions.”

Kirk Duthler, media and communications section head for Al Ain Wildlife Park and Resort, said visibility in Al Ain was down to 500m.

“The wind is not so bad, maybe gusting to about 25 or 30km, but there is no rain,” he said.

“The visibility is awful, I can’t see the mountains, but it’s not any different to having a foggy morning.”

If the storm continues through the weekend, he said, the resort might expect as few as a quarter of the usual number of visitors.

“But the oryx are quite happy,” he said, “and the birds are still flying around, so the animals are not bothered by it all.”

Police from several emirates warned motorists to be particularly careful.

The Sharjah Police’s traffic department said there had been at least 23 accidents in the emirate yesterday because of poor visibility, while Col Sultan al Nuaimi, deputy director of Ajman Police, cautioned drivers to be careful when turning on their high-beams in a dust storm.

“Some motorists panic when they cannot see and put on full lights; this is very dangerous,” he said.
* With additional reporting by Yasin Kakande and Daniel Bardsley

Crew seek access to damaged tanker

DUBAI - FEB. 13: The crew of the tanker Kashmir, whose side was ripped open in a collision with a container ship off Dubai on Tuesday, are yet to carry out a full damage assessment.

“Some of our officers were allowed on board briefly on Wednesday, but only for a few hours,” Loris Servadei, of the vessel’s Italian owners Martinoli Consulting, said from the firm’s headquarters in Genoa, Italy.

“From what they were able to tell in that time, the engine room appears to be fully operational, but we need to check the tanks with the cargo in them to assess the possibility of discharging it, and we cannot do that until we are allowed on board. “The vessel is still at a safe anchor.We are confident that we may be able to remove the cargo safely, either by bringing it into port or by a ship-to-ship transfer, but we don’t have enough information to determine whether we can do that yet.”

He also said the voyage data recorder had not yet been recovered. The device, similar to flight data recorders on aeroplanes, “will help us learn what happened”.

The Kashmir was carrying 30,000 tonnes of liquefied natural gas from Iran to Jebel Ali when it collided with the Sima Saman as it approached the port. The Kashmir suffered substantial damage to the middle of its port side, but the area where it was hit was empty of cargo, and environmental assessments suggest that little was spilt into the sea. Both ships were damaged by a fire that was started by the collision.

The Kashmir “is listing a little to the port side, but she is stable and we do not see much problem in moving her or transferring the cargo”, Mr Servadei said. “We are clearly pushing to be allowed to examine the possibilities and decide what the best thing to do is, but so far we just have to wait.”

The Sima Saman was allowed to return to Jebel Ali port on Wednesday, and representatives of her operators, Simatech Shipping and Forwarding of Dubai, went on board yesterday.

“The crew have returned and are carrying out a full damage assessment,” said Amir Maghami, managing director of Simatech.

“The ship has suffered quite significant damage to her bow, and around 20 containers have been damaged by fire, although we have not yet been given permission to open them so we do not know exactly what is in them or whether the contents have been affected.

“There is an underwater survey going on to see the extent of the damage there, but it is much too early to estimate how much it might cost. Repairs to the bow are usually more difficult because the metal plate is thicker there, but the UAE is one of the best places for ship repair in the world.

“Our priority at the moment is to transfer the cargo on to another ship so it can continue on to its destination. We hope to be able to do that in the next couple of days.”

Both ships had been under the control of harbour pilots, whose job it is to guide vessels in and out of port, at the time of the crash. Visibility had been significantly reduced by fog.

DP World, the operator of Jebel Ali port, could not be reached for comment yesterday.