Qatar suspends marine activities

With significant tension in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf, it would not seem necessary to advise boaters to stay off the water. However, there was cause to make a statement in Doha, Qatar.

This peninsular Arab country extends into the Gulf and the Ministry of Transport has advised owners and users of sailboats and all forms of boating to suspend all maritime activity as of June 29 until further notice. This follows an incident where a private vessel was impacted by shrapnel from military operations, resulting in a fatality.

The SailGP league has been following the situation in the Persian Gulf as their final two events of the 2026 season will be at Qatar’s neighbor, United Arab Emirates, which is located even closer to Iran, the epicenter of unrest.