A GROUP from Bahrain is the only Arab team taking part in an international competition for solar-powered boats.
The eight-member team from Bahrain University is representing the country in the Solar Sport One, which is being held in the Netherlands until July 15.
The contest will feature five races, each taking place over two days in different cities in the Netherlands.
However, due to time and budget constraints the team will only take part in three races.
So far, the Bahrain team has come in third place in the Class A race out of 22 other teams, and it came in fourth place in the 50km dash.
The members of the team are Bahrain University engineering faculty chief technician Ebrahim Noor, engineering faculty technician Mohammed Sadiq, and engineer and recent graduate Mohammed Al Balushi, along with mechanical engineering students Abdulrahaman Saber and Osama Dawood, electrical engineering student Shaima Shakibman, electronic engineering student Safia Jassim, and precision engineering and control student Mazin Abdullah.
The team is administratively and scientifically supervised by Bahrain University vice-president for academic and graduate studies Dr Waheeb Al Nasser.
The team is also being financially supported by Tamkeen, under the direction of Tamkeen chief executive Dr Ebrahim Janahi.
“The university’s goals in taking part in this competition is to gain the skills in using green energy in the maritime transport sector,” said Dr Al Nasser, who is also Bahrain University applied physics professor and head of the Arab section of the world solar society.
“Also, to identify what hinders the use of renewable resources in marine navigation such as wind and waves, sea salinity change, impurities that get stuck in the mechanisms of these boats, and the cost of travelling in boats powered by renewable energy.
“We also hope that the students learn from this experience from the other students and instructors there and be able to bring that knowledge back to Bahrain.
“We are proud to be the only Arab country taking part in the race despite the limited resources that we have, which shows the level of skill our team has.”
The results of the second race the team is taking part in will be announced later today.
The GDN previously reported that a team from the university first competed in the biennial ‘World Cup for Solar-Powered Boats’ in 2014 where they managed to rank sixth out of 24 on the first day and came in third out of 24 in the drag race, but could not complete the series of races because their boat’s shaft broke mid-race.
Another team took part in the Dutch Solar Challenge in 2016 which was held in Amsterdam.
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