Borer fauna of Iran biodeterioration of wooden boats in Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman
IRG/WP 97-10230
P Niloufari
In Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman (Indian Ocean) there are thousands of wooden boats from the time of Acheamenian and Sassand dynasti when India was a part of the Persian Empire. Now after 2500 years again, the Indian timbers specially Tectona Grandis and other Indian timbers and also tropical woods of Zanzibar (Tanzania) are brought to the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman (Indian Ocean). Unfortunately the woods are not pressure impregnated but the boats are made from many kinds of woods (indigenous and exotic) and with bad oil impregnation (local impregnation). As a result the wooden boats are very badly attacked by different borers. None of the timber species currently in demand for boat building possesses any natural bioresistance, and will be completely destroyed within 6 to 12 months. The Iranian ministry of Jihad (reconstruction) should use pressure impregnation of wood with preservative chemicals, but the impregnation is inadequate. The need for long-term research in the field of marine biodeterioration for improving the efficiency of currently known control measures, with emphasis of application of non-polluting biological methods has been suggested in this paper.