Dubai builds new shipping hub to connect trade, finance and logistics

DMCC links shipping, finance and insurance to capture more trade value

Last updated: April 09, 2026 | 18:58

Nivetha Dayanand, Assistant Business Editor

2 MIN READ

Dubai builds new shipping hub to connect trade, finance and logistics

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Dubai: Dubai is moving to capture a larger share of global shipping revenue by bringing trade, finance and maritime services into a single ecosystem, with the launch of a new Maritime Centre at DMCC.

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The initiative is designed to go beyond the movement of goods and focus on where value is created, financed and retained, offering companies a platform that connects shipping activity directly with capital, insurance and advisory services.

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From cargo movement to value capture

The Maritime Centre builds on an existing base of more than 150 maritime-related companies already operating within DMCC, spanning shipping, logistics, marine services and trade support.

The new platform formalises that activity into a structured environment aimed at increasing deal flow and keeping more of the financial value linked to shipping within Dubai.

Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and CEO of DMCC, said the shift reflects how the industry itself is evolving.

“Shipping today is not only about the movement of goods but about how that activity is financed, structured and managed. With the DMCC Maritime Centre, we are building the ecosystem around that reality,” he said.

He added that the platform is designed to bring together all parts of the maritime value chain. “We are bringing together the companies, capital and services that sit around maritime trade and creating the conditions for more of that value to be captured here in Dubai.”

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Connecting trade with capital

A key feature of the centre is its integration with DMCC FinX and the DMCC Wealth Hub, linking physical shipping activity with access to financing, risk management and wealth structuring.

This allows maritime businesses to tap into funding tied directly to real trade flows, including vessel financing and freight-linked receivables, while also managing the wealth generated from those activities within the same ecosystem.

“Working in close alignment with DMCC FinX and DMCC Wealth Hub, the Maritime Centre will connect maritime trade with access to capital, financing and risk management, while supporting the structuring and preservation of wealth linked to shipping and trade assets,” Bin Sulayem said.

Building a full-service ecosystem

The centre is positioned as a commercial platform, bringing together shipowners, operators, financiers, insurers, legal advisers and technology providers in one place.

Services will span maritime finance, insurance, legal support, digital documentation and commercial intelligence, creating a full-service environment designed to support deal-making and execution.

Nivetha DayanandAssistant Business Editor

Nivetha Dayanand is Assistant Business Editor at Gulf News, covering aviation, financial markets and commodities. A business and financial journalist with a strong interest in multimedia storytelling, she regularly takes complex financial and economic subjects beyond the written word, producing explainer videos that make them easier for a wider audience to understand. Nivetha has interviewed senior policymakers, business leaders and global financial figures both on and off camera. Her past guests include UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Khaled bin Alwaleed Al Saud, a member of the House of Saud and the founder and CEO of KBW Ventures, Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund and Indian ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and N. Chandrababu Naidu. She has also hosted and moderated panels, conferences and awards shows, bringing her newsroom experience to live conversations on business, finance and the economy. An Erasmus Mundus journalism alum, Nivetha is drawn to stories that affect people directly and to reporting that gives a platform to voices that might otherwise go unheard. She was among the first journalists to speak to Petrofac employees in the UAE about unpaid salaries, broke the news of the planned demolition of Dubai’s well-known “Toyota Building”, and helped set the record straight on widely circulated claims that a giant replica of the Moon was coming to Dubai. More recently, her exclusive interview with EDGE Group CEO Hamad Al Marar revealed how the UAE-based defence group deployed its systems along the country’s shore border and established a geofence around the UAE within 48 hours of the February 28 escalation. Prior to joining Gulf News, Nivetha worked at ITP Media, where she helped launch Finance Middle East, a new publication covering the region’s financial sector. Her role spanned reporting and editing, video production, interviews and events. Across print, digital, and video, she focuses on finding the people behind business stories and explaining why those stories matter to the audience reading or watching them.