Iceberg Towing Project Proposed for 2018

A company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) plans to tow an iceberg from Antarctica to relieve the nation's water shortage.

A private firm based in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, claims the National Advisor Bureau plans to send a ship south to haul the iceberg nearly 12,600 kilometers (7,800 miles) to Fujairah.

An iceberg could provide enough water for one million people over five years, the firm claims. It could also be good for tourism and the weather, says the company. 

In a promotional video, the company depicts polar bears and penguins being towed on the iceberg, even though there are no polar bears in Antarctica.

Technical and financial plans have been formulated for the tow that could take 12 months.

The UAE is predicted to run out of ground water in the next 15 years, reports The Guardian. The region relies heavily on desalination, but people there use on average about 500 liters (130 gallons) of water a day, about 80 percent more than the global average. 

The idea of towing icebergs is not new but has not been achieved on the scale anticipated for the project. The Canadian offshore oil and gas industry tows small icebergs away from offshore platforms when there is a risk of collision.

The UAE project is anticipated to commence in 2018.