Jewel of Muscat to leave Sri Lanka's Galle port tomorrow

The Jewel of Muscat, a replica of a 9th century Arab trading vessel on an historic voyage sailing from Oman to Singapore is to leave Galle port tomorrow on its last leg.
The 18-metre-long vessel left the Kerala port of Cochin in India on April 10th and sailed through a tropical storm to arrive in Galle on April 19th. The sailing through the storm had damaged one of the vessel's masts.



The vessel has been fitted with new masts for the journey across the Bay of Bengal through the Straits of Malacca to Singapore. It is expected to reach Singapore in June 2010.

The ship, a gift from Oman to Singapore set sail on February 16th from the Omani port of Sultan Qaboos and using the 9th century navigation techniques reached port of Cochin in India on March 15th after covering 1300 miles in 28 days.

The ship will be displayed in a museum once it reaches Singapore.