Seagliders that travel at high speeds over water will be built in the UAE following the signing of an agreement between the US maritime transport company Regent and Abu Dhabi Investment Office on Thursday.
Boston start-up Regent has also signed an agreement with Abu Dhabi's Department of Transport to integrate its electric-powered seaglider into the existing UAE transportation network, with a focus on high-impact routes, such as offshore services to Delma Island and Sir Bani Yas Island.
Regent is in the development stages of its passenger craft, Viceroy, which uses wing-in-ground effect to travel at speeds of up to 290kph within a wingspan of the water's surface, cutting travel times between coastal cities by more than half.
The company, which has demonstrated its float, foil and fly technology in testing on a quarter-scale model, is now building a full-scale 20-metre wingspan model capable of carrying 12 passengers and two crew to test its use before going into full production next year at its base in Rhode Island.
You're talking 50 per cent reduction in operating costs, which ostensibly all gets passed on to the customer as savings by going to seagliders
Billy Thalheimer,
Regent
Regent has had significant support from the industry and investors in raising its $60 million Series A Funding, including Abu Dhabi's Strategic Development Funds and Neom Investment Fund, which made the single largest investment in the round.
There has also been backing from Japan Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Lockheed Martin and Shark Tank star and billionaire Mark Cuban, with total investment now standing at $90 million.
Co-founder and chief executive Billy Thalheimer said Regent also has a backorder of more than $9 billion from airline and ferry operators for both the Viceroy craft and the larger 100-passenger Monarch, which he expects will transform regional transport for coastal areas.
Regent has manufacturing and test facilities in Rhode Island and is "looking at other sites within the US" to develop its building capacity, Mr Thalheimer told The National.
To help meet orders in the Middle East, Europe and Indo-Pacific regions, Regent will "localise sea glider manufacturing in Abu Dhabi", he said.
"We’re working right now with Adio on the plan. Our intention is to establish manufacturing by the end of the decade," he said.
"The next step is to pull in all the relevant players, do site identification, manufacturing readiness and figure out what the whole plan looks like as to when can we start and what manufacturing will entail in Abu Dhabi."
Regent will be part of the Smart and Autonomous Vehicles Industry (Savi) cluster, located in Masdar City, which aims to develop smart and self-driving vehicles for air, land and sea use.
Established as a multi-modal hub in October, Savi is expected to contribute between Dh90 billion and Dh120 billion ($24.5 billion to $32.7 billion) to the UAE's economy and generate up to 50,000 jobs.
Badr Al Olama, the director general of Adio, said Regent will "shape the future of coastal transportation".
"With immense speed and efficiency, I’m confident Abu Dhabi will see the global deployment of electric seagliders and these will dramatically change how goods and people move between the world’s coastal areas going forward," Mr Al Olama said in a news release on Thursday.
Production capacity will depend on demand, but Regent already has firm orders from an unnamed Abu Dhabi-based commercial operator and another in Egypt.
Final details on what will be built in Abu Dhabi are still being thrashed out, he said, but the plan is to have full production facilities in the emirate.
"What we're manufacturing is still part of the discussion," Mr Thalheimer said.
"The intention is to manufacture something but the goal would be full seagliders, and the next step is really figuring out what it actually looks like, putting the nuts and bolts of the details of the deal together."
Fly like a bird
Wing-in-ground effect technology has been around for more than 60 years and is based on using aerodynamic lift plus air pressure generated by flying close to the water surface – the same principle that allows gulls to glide low over the water.
Regent’s seaglider is designed with an intermediary position between boat and glider, popping up on a hydrofoil, allowing it to navigate busier waterways and inclement weather.
Once it has motored out of a harbour on a hydrofoil, the seaglider takes off at a low speed using the water as a runway, then flies over the waves at a top speed of 290kph.
It allows for quick access around coastal waters, particularly from islands to mainland, and is capable of serving routes of up to 300km with existing battery technology and 800km with next-gen batteries.
Abu Dhabi's Department of Transport, in an agreement announced at the DriftX event on Thursday, will integrate the use of seagliders in the emirate, starting with Delma Island, where 10,000 residents mainly use a once-daily flight to access services on the mainland, and Sir Bani Yas Island, home to a protected wildlife reserve and the Desert Islands Resort & Spa by Anantara.
"Currently, it’s [Delma] serviced by Q400 turbo props with one flight a day," Mr Thalheimer said.
"You can imagine how inconvenient it is to have to take an aircraft which only goes once a day to leave your home to access economic opportunities, education, medical care. Seagliders increase the flexibility and access to the mainland for those on Delma Island."
Smart plans
Abu Dhabi has been working on providing residents with smarter, more efficient modes of transport.
In February, Abu Dhabi and Shenzhen signed a twin-city agreement to share knowledge and collaborate on smart city projects across several areas including infrastructure, city planning, green mobility, transport, advanced technology, autonomous solutions, sustainability and urban development.
Abu Dhabi is also trialling driverless taxis in the emirate, while flying taxis are expected to hit Abu Dhabi and Dubai skies next year, cutting travel times significantly between the two emirates.
Mr Thalheimer said the seagliders will also help with inter-emirate connectivity and offer commuters an option to avoid busy motorways between Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah.
"Right now, if you look at Abu Dhabi to Ras Al Khaimah, you're talking about a two and a half hour drive, at best. But [with seagliders] you will be able to do day trips and can do that trip in under an hour.
"It’s sort of like a Gulf Metro that seagliders would create here, which the DoT can operate."
The trip between Abu Dhabi and Dubai is one of the busiest road journeys in the UAE. Offering high-speed connections on water between the two cities would cut travel times by more than half.
"Seaglider would be about equal on that route. It would be a little faster than a car because you’re moving faster but obviously a car goes door to door but the seaglider has to go to the dock first.
"It would be about 25 minutes in terms of the voyage itself. So we can cut the travel time in half."
In December, Regent signed an agreement with Aramex, the Middle East's largest courier firm, to develop electric seagliders for middle-mile logistics.
It is also working with Saudi Arabia's Neom project to provide connectivity around the islands along the coastline, particularly Sindalah.
"Neom is looking for better connectivity – faster, cheaper, greener, more comfortable connectivity throughout the islands of the Red Sea," he said.
Of particular interest for airlines and ferry operators is the Monarch, which Mr Thalheimer said will enter into service "before the end of the decade".
"All of this technology, the ground effect even the hydrodynamics of the hydrofoil scales really well with size," he said.
"Aircraft flying at altitude, the bigger they get, the heavier they get, the more energy intensive they get, the harder it is to fly large aircraft with batteries."
He said ground effect offers an efficient form of flying that gives it a distinct advantage over aircraft.
"Always being over a place to land is very efficient in terms of how much reserve fuel you need to carry and the hydrodynamic scale very well with size," he said.
"You're talking 50 per cent reduction in operating costs, which ostensibly all gets passed on to the customer as savings by going to seagliders and by going to that large Monarch variant."
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Vaccine Progress in the Middle East
Non-oil%20trade
%3Cp%3ENon-oil%20trade%20between%20the%20UAE%20and%20Japan%20grew%20by%2034%20per%20cent%20over%20the%20past%20two%20years%2C%20according%20to%20data%20from%20the%20Federal%20Competitiveness%20and%20Statistics%20Centre.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIn%2010%20years%2C%20it%20has%20reached%20a%20total%20of%20Dh524.4%20billion.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ECars%20topped%20the%20list%20of%20the%20top%20five%20commodities%20re-exported%20to%20Japan%20in%202022%2C%20with%20a%20value%20of%20Dh1.3%20billion.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EJewellery%20and%20ornaments%20amounted%20to%20Dh150%20million%20while%20precious%20metal%20scraps%20amounted%20to%20Dh105%20million.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERaw%20aluminium%20was%20ranked%20first%20among%20the%20top%20five%20commodities%20exported%20to%20Japan.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETop%20of%20the%20list%20of%20commodities%20imported%20from%20Japan%20in%202022%20was%20cars%2C%20with%20a%20value%20of%20Dh20.08%20billion.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
%20Ramez%20Gab%20Min%20El%20Akher
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ramez%20Galal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ramez%20Galal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStreaming%20on%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMBC%20Shahid%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
- Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs
- Thursday 20 January: v England
- Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad:
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
