Al-Hashemi-II is the largest dhow ever built, and is one of the largest wooden ships in the world today. It sits next to the Radisson Blu Hotel in Kuwait City, Kuwait. It contains a maritime museum known as Al-Hashemi-II Marine Museum.

Development and design

Al-Hashemi-II was commissioned by Husain Marafie. Planning began in 1985, and actual construction began in 1997. The ship cost more than $30 million to build. Used for meetings and events and advertised as the "largest dhow ever built", it is one of the world's largest wooden ships. It has never been floated, although it was built utilising traditional caulking and other water-tightness construction methods. It is 83.75 m long, with a 18.5 m beam.

Guinness Record

It is entered in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest wooden dhow ever built, appearing in the 2002 Guinness World Records under the caption "DHOW AMAZING!" and categorised as "Ships, largest Arabic dhow". The certificate records the length as slightly shorter than the claimed length, at 80.4 m, and the width as slightly wider, at 18.7 m. Different metrics are used to record ship lengths, which may account for that variance.