Dubai remains Middle East's top maritime city
New global report highlights the emirate's ability to keep trade moving during disruptions
Dubai has retained its position as the Middle East's leading maritime city, ranking 12th globally in the 2026 Leading Maritime Cities (LMC) report by DNV and Menon Economics.
The ranking places the emirate among the world's leading maritime hubs, recognising its ability to keep trade moving despite one of the most challenging years for regional shipping.
Disruptions to major trade routes affected supply chains across the Middle East over the past year. However, Dubai's maritime sector and Jebel Ali Port continued operations, supported by close coordination between government authorities and industry.
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The emirate's network of bonded corridors, road and rail links, and free zones also helped maintain cargo movement and connections with international markets.
Ranks fifth globally for maritime resilience
The 2026 report introduced a new assessment of maritime resilience, in which industry experts ranked Dubai fifth globally, alongside leading maritime centres such as Singapore, Rotterdam, Shanghai and London.
The report highlighted Dubai's advanced infrastructure, strategic location and growing maritime business base. It noted that the ability to respond to disruption, recover quickly and redirect operations has become an important measure of a city's competitiveness.
Abdulla bin Damithan, Chairman of the Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC), said Dubai's position reflected the leadership's long-term commitment to developing a world-class maritime sector.
He said the challenges facing regional shipping had demonstrated the strength of Dubai's maritime infrastructure and its ability to support businesses during uncertain times.
The ranking also reflected the confidence of international maritime companies in Dubai as a preferred base for their regional operations, he added.
Climbs nine places in competitiveness
Dubai recorded one of its strongest gains in the Attractiveness and Competitiveness category, rising nine places from 15th in 2024 to sixth in 2026. This was the biggest improvement among cities ranked in the top 15 in both editions.
The emirate shared the top position with Abu Dhabi for entrepreneurship, ranked second globally for human capital and joint fourth for global competitiveness.
Industry experts also named Dubai the world's second-most attractive city for relocating maritime headquarters, citing its international connectivity and strategic location between major markets.
DP World moves nearly one million containers
Ahmad Yousef Al Hassan, CEO and Managing Director of DP World GCC, said the ability to adapt to changing circumstances was essential for a major maritime hub.
He said DP World moved nearly one million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) across the region during the challenging year, using alternative shipping routes and its multimodal transport network.
The company is also investing in additional terminal capacity in Fujairah and strengthening its regional network to give customers more shipping options and better connections to Dubai.
The report assessed 50 maritime cities selected from more than 15,000 worldwide, using five categories covering shipping, finance and law, technology, ports and logistics, and competitiveness. It combined performance data with feedback from 208 senior industry experts.
The report was launched at the first Seatrade Maritime UAE Summit in Dubai, which brought together senior figures from the global shipping and logistics industry.
