Male’, Maldives, 13th December 2022 – Last night, the National Boating Association of Maldives (NBAM) held its flagship awards event, The Boating Awards 2022. The Boating Awards is an initiative launched by NBAM in 2014, with the aim of giving recognition to the boating industry’s services, and the talent and workmanship in the boating fraternity. It aims to encourage and raise services standards of the local boating industry.
This year’s ceremony took place on Monday, 12th December 2022 at Dharubaaruge, Male’, with over 200 stakeholders of the local boating community in attendance. The evening began with a dinner and networking session, followed by the awards itself. The awards were presented to nominees in different categories. The winners were selected by a panel of industry experts and local boating enthusiasts. These represent the best and brightest of the Maldivian boating community.
Some categories of this year’s boating awards include:
- Best-Built Liveaboard or Yacht
- Best Boat Design of the Year
- Most Preferred Marine Engine Brands of the year, for Outboard and Main Engines separately
- Best Boat Design of the Year, and more
In addition, NBAM introduced a special category for this year’s Boating Awards, titled ‘Faces of Boating’, giving special recognition to those who have made significant contribution to the local boating scene. This token of appreciation was executed commendably, with a biography of each ‘Face’ given during the awards ceremony, highlighting their longstanding contribution. It was a unique and inspiring touch to this year’s Boating Awards.
Faces of Boating Award Winners:
- Best Captain: Maldives Transport and Contracting Company – Ahmed Zaki
- Best Room Boy / Deckhand: Blue Force Travels – Ahmed Hassan
- Best Waiter / Deckhand: Blue Force Travels – Senarath Weerasinghe
- Best Engineer: Maldives Transport & Contracting Company – Mohamed Rasheed
- Best Chief / Deckhand: Blue Force Travels – Sampath Abeygunarathna
- Best Crew Member: Maldives Transport & Contracting Company – Ibrahim Abdul Hady
- Best Cruise Manager: Blue Force Travels – Mohamed Ali Naseer
- Sales, Reservations and Operational Staff: Blue Horizon – Lorna V. Castaneto
The Boating Awards 2022 Winners
- Best-Built Liveaboard / Yacht: Tropical Adventure Maldives, Searex
- Best Fibre Vessel 5 – 10 Meters: Alshali Marine Maldives, Canary 28
- Best Fibre Vessel 10-15 Meters: Gulf Craft Maldives, Touring 38
- Best Fibre Vessel 15-45 Meters: Al Shaali Marine Maldives, As Cat 55
- Best Boat Design of the Year: Al Shaali Marine Maldives, As Cat 55
- Liveaboard / Yacht Operator of the Year: Maldives Holiday Collections
- Liveaboard / Yacht Brand of the Year: Carpediem Maldives
- Dive Guide of the Year: Top Class Cruising, Ali Shareef
- Surf Guide of the Year: Maldives Bodyboarding Association, Mushan Adnan Moosa
- Most Preferred Marine Engineering Service Provider of the Year (Outboard): Alia Investments, Yamaha
- Most Preferred Marine Engineering Service Provider of the Year (Main Engine): Maldives Transport & Contracting Company, Yanmar
- Boat Equipment Supplier of the Year: Palm Tree Marine
- Dock Yard / Slipway of the Year: Maldives Transport & Contracting Company
- Most Preferred Marine Engine Brand of the Year (Main Engine): Quick Ezy Maldives, Doosan
- Most Preferred Marine Engine Brand of the Year (Outboard): Alia Investment, Yamaha
- Best After-Sales Service Provider: Alia Investment
- Most Preferred Marine Generator Brand of the Year: Maldives Transport & Contracting Company, Yanmar
- Most Preferred Dive Equipment Brand of the Year: Sea Gear, Aqualung
- Most Preferred Dive Compressor Brand of the Year: Ma Services, Bauer Compressor
- Most Preferred Marine Paint of the Year: Maldives Transport & Contracting Company, Ppg
- Bunkering & Fuel Supplier of the Year: Hawks Pvt Ltd
- Best Tanker (Fuel) Operator: Hawks Pvt Ltd
- Best Surf Safari: Voyages Maldives, Seafarer
- Best Dive Safari: Sachika Maldives, Sachika Safari
- Best Fishing Safari: Noorani Travels, Nooraanee 2
- Most Preferred Insurance Partner: Allied Insurance
- Liveaboard Travel Agents / Tour Operator: Maldives Holiday Collections
- Best Tourist Transfer Service Provider: Jalboot Maldives
- Best Local Ferry Service Provider: Maldives Transport & Contracting Company
At the ceremony, the Minister of Tourism, Dr. Mausoom, delivered a speech on the importance of the boating industry in the Maldives. As he mentioned, it is important to recognize the contribution of the boating industry in stabilizing the Maldivian economy in the aftermath of COVID-19. The Maldivian tourism industry’s recovery and growth during the pandemic and the difficulties faced in the past two years have been commended by the international communities. The local boating industry placed a significant role in this. They followed the HPA’s guidelines and recommendations properly, ensuring everyone’s safety and even assisted with distributing the vaccines and collecting samples across the Maldives.
The boating industry is one of the oldest in the Maldives, yet there are also many difficulties being faced by them. The government is currently working towards helping to solve these problems, one of the main ones being the lack of a port. Furthermore, according to the tourism ministry, there are over 159 safaris in the Maldives, making it one of the biggest sectors in the tourism industry, following the resorts sector. Safaris have been helping tourists make trips across the Maldivian islands since 1980. Its progress and growth to this day is noteworthy.
With the Boating Awards, NBAM strives to give the limelight to everyone who has contributed to the boating industry’s success. We would like to congratulate everyone for their achievements and look forward to the boating community’s continued success.
