Dolphin-Watching Speedboats to Face Capacity Limits as the Red Sea Overhauls Boat Licensing
The governor has ordered a database of every boat working in Red Sea waters and new controls on the private speedboats that run dolphin trips, with limits on how many people they may carry.
24 September 2026
Red Sea Governor Walid El-Barqi has ordered an overhaul of the way boats are licensed in the governorate, including new controls on the private speedboats that take tourists on dolphin-watching trips, according to Al-Masry Al-Youm and Sada El-Balad.
At a meeting with the governorate's marine activities committee he asked for updated replacement-and-renewal rules, already drafted by the governorate, to be reviewed and signed off, and for technical standards to be set for tourist boats. A boat's technical condition is to be checked more strictly before its licence is renewed.
He also ordered a comprehensive database of every boat working in the governorate's waters, recording:
- the type of boat and the activity it runs
- its length and technical condition
- the type of licence it holds
- its occupational and technical safety data
The meeting reviewed how boats should be classified by use — private boats, boats working for hire, and service boats — and set out to draw a clear line between pleasure trips and paid trips, each with its own legal and technical requirements.
Dr Ahmed Ghallab, director-general of the Red Sea Protectorates, said the operating capacity allowed for speedboats running dolphin-watching trips should be defined, with conditions to protect marine life and keep the activity sustainable. He called for an integrated database of the private boats working in it so the authorities can monitor and enforce the rules, particularly in areas that are important dolphin habitats.
The sources do not say when the new rules take effect, what the capacity limits will be, or what penalties operators face.
For visitors, the change is still on paper — but it points at a familiar tension on this coast. This site reported on 4 September that rangers had asked tourists not to touch the whale sharks being seen repeatedly off Hurghada and Marsa Alam; the same problem of a popular excursion pressing on the animals it depends on runs through these rules.