Dubai has retained its status as the Middle East's leading maritime city, ranking 12th globally in the 2026 Leading Maritime Cities report published jointly by classification society DNV and Menon Economics. Abu Dhabi climbed seven positions from 22nd to 15th place, marking its first appearance among the world's top 15 maritime hubs.
The biennial report evaluated 50 maritime cities across five core pillars: shipping centres, maritime finance and law, maritime technology, ports and logistics, and attractiveness and competitiveness. The findings combined objective industry indicators with assessments provided by 208 international maritime executives and experts.
In a new maritime resilience metric introduced this year, industry experts ranked Dubai fifth worldwide, alongside hubs including Singapore, Rotterdam, Shanghai, and London. The study highlighted Dubai's ability to maintain cargo movement and redirect logistics operations through Jebel Ali Port, bonded corridors, and free zones despite widespread regional trade disruptions over the past year.
Dubai also rose from 15th to sixth globally in the Attractiveness and Competitiveness pillar, sharing first place with Abu Dhabi in the entrepreneurship indicator. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi registered significant gains across multiple categories, notably advancing from 31st to 15th position in Maritime Finance and Law.
Sources
- Arabian Business · 2026-11-12
