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Dubai Harbour welcomes 100% renewables-powered Swiss vessel
Dubai Harbour, an extraordinary seafront district, welcomed the Swiss experimental vessel powered solely by renewables, Porrima, to its marinas on March 17, 2022, as part of its worldwide journey across five continents called the Blue Odyssey.
Choosing Dubai Harbour for its second world destination, the first-of-its-kind solar, wind and hydrogen-powered ship has travelled more than 11,000km without stopping since departing Osaka, Japan, on December 18, 2021.
Dubai Harbour – recently voted as the winner of the World’s Best New Cruise Development at the 1st Annual World Cruise Awards 2021 – is home to the region’s largest marina and features Bay Marina, Dubai’s first dedicated superyacht marina which can accommodate yachts up to 160m in length. Dubai Harbour is also home to Palm View Marina and Harbour Marina offering 556 berths for yachts up to 40 meters and a curated mix of restaurants, cafes, and retail offerings.
Upon arrival at Dubai Harbour, the Porrima berthed at Harbour Marina in front of the Yacht Club building before unveiling a suite of renewable technologies that have been proven on board. It will invite the youth to join the ‘Blue Campus’ to learn the skills and build the talent around the showcased next-generation solutions to sustainable ocean industries and resource preservation.
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Abdulla Binhabtoor, chief portfolio management officer, Shamal Holding, the company which owns Dubai Harbour, said, “We are excited to welcome the Porrima to Dubai Harbour for its third odyssey around the globe. It is exciting to see how the intersection of technology and sustainability come together to help tackle the environmental challenges that we face today. The Porrima brings sustainable mobility to the forefront, and we are committed to accelerating action to preserve a healthy planet for generations to come.”
The journey, which aims to arrive at its destination after a refit with 12 novel technologies in time for the opening of the Expo 2025 Osaka, will see the vessel dock at ports around the world to demonstrate how to tackle problems such as pollution and climate change through the use of commercially viable renewable technologies.
The project comes in response to a call to action from the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, which invites initiatives geared towards realising ‘an ideal future society.’ Porrima – named after the Roman goddess of the future – was the first in the world to circumnavigate the globe using only solar energy under its previous name, ‘Planet Solar’. Now, using solar, wind and hydrogen, the 36-metre 100-tonne vessel also utilises artificial intelligence and technologies inspired by nature. Just as lungs remove the CO2 from our blood, the same technique is used to clean seawater, isolate and destroy microplastics, making Porrima the only vessel in the word certified to produce and consume hydrogen on board.
The creator of the enterprise is the serial entrepreneur, economist, and author Gunter Pauli, who sets out to inspire the next generation with competitive and commercially viable renewable technologies and techniques. He said, “We need to wake up the entrepreneurs of the future, and I believe Dubai is the right place for this. The innovation and adoption of the kind of technologies that we are showcasing on the Porrima will have a fundamental role to play in the realisation of many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – and provide a blueprint for creating an ideal future society.”
If you’ve ever fumbled for a parking ticket while leaving City Walk or queued at a payment machine, those days are over.
Dubai’s popular lifestyle destination has rolled out a barrierless, ticketless parking system, allowing motorists to drive in and out without collecting a ticket or stopping to pay before exiting.
The new system, introduced by Parkin, uses automatic number plate recognition technology to record when vehicles enter and leave the parking facility, making the entire process faster and more convenient.
How the new parking system works
Instead of paper tickets and exit barriers, cameras identify your vehicle when you enter and exit City Walk.
Parking fees are calculated automatically based on the length of your stay.
If you have a Parkin account, the fee is deducted automatically. Visitors without an account, or those with insufficient balance, will receive a payment link to complete the transaction digitally.
The move is part of Dubai’s wider shift towards smart mobility and cashless services.
Parking charges at City Walk
Visitors can still enjoy one hour of free parking at City Walk.
After the complimentary period, parking is charged at:
- Dh5 per hour, or part of an hour.
For visitors heading to The Boulevard, a different tariff applies.
The first 30 minutes are free, after which parking costs Dh20 per hour. According to City Walk, these charges are automatically deducted through the visitor’s Salik account.
How to get free parking
Visitors spending Dh50 or more at participating outlets can receive up to three hours of complimentary parking.
To claim the benefit, shoppers and diners must validate their parking at the participating retailer before leaving.
Parking validation is also available for eligible visitors at attractions including Roxy Cinemas, The Green Planet and selected participating outlets.
Part of a growing smart parking network
City Walk is the latest destination to embrace ticketless parking as Dubai continues expanding digital payment solutions across the city.
Earlier, Parkin announced a five-year agreement with Al Ghurair Centre to introduce a similar smart parking system.
Under that arrangement, visitors receive three hours of complimentary parking before charges apply from Monday to Saturday, while parking remains free on Sundays and public holidays.
With barrierless parking now becoming more common across Dubai, motorists can expect quicker entry and exit, fewer queues and a smoother parking experience, without the hassle of paper tickets.
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