Shabab Oman

Factsheet

• Length: 52.40 m/li>
• Beam: 8.50 m
• Draught: 4.60 m
• Hull: Wood
• Tuig: Bark
• Sail area: 1020 m2
• Year of construction: 1971
• Homeport: Maskat
• Flag: Oman

Shabab Oman means "Youth of Oman".

The three-masted barkentine is considered to be an important ambassador for the Sultanate of Oman. This is due in part to the fact that the ship has visited many countries and taken part in many international events and celebrations. Shabab Oman is a reflection of Oman’s old maritime history.

The wooden ship was built in Scotland in 1971 and is made of Scottish oak and Uruguayan pine. The ship initially fell under the Ministry of Youth until she was handed over to the Royal Navy of Oman in 1979. Since then, she has served as a training ship for trainees to acquire navigational skills and sailing experience at sea.

Since becoming part of the navy, Shabab Oman has put in at port in many countries, including Australia, Russia, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom and France. The ship still serves as a training ship, featuring some courses which last a couple of weeks and involve a crew of young trainees from the military units of the Sultan, the Royal Guard and the Royal Oman Police. The ship can accommodate 24 people, and the crew has a lot of opportunity during their travels to have international cultural experiences.

The ship’s figurehead is a replica of the 15th-century Omani sailor Ahmed bin Majed. He assisted the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama in the discovery of Africa and India.

The Shabab Oman is known as the largest wooden sailing ship still in operation. She has taken part in Sail New York (1986, to mark the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America), the 200th anniversary of the founding of Australia (1987-1988) and the Columbus Regatta (1992) and she won the Cutty Sark Tall Ship Race in the Baltic Sea (1996).