Dubai, UAE – The UAE topped the list of Arab countries most attractive for investment in the maritime transport sector for 2025.
Based on the results of the logistics sector risk assessment, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Egypt, and Kuwait ranked next in line among the most attractive destinations for investment in this field.
The Arab Investment and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (Dhaman) revealed that the maritime transport sector in the Arab region attracted 146 foreign projects.
With an investment cost of nearly $4 billion over the past 23 years, between January 2003 and December 2025.
The Foundation explained in its fourth sectoral report for 2025 on the maritime transport sector in Arab countries, that 5 Arab countries, including the UAE, Egypt, the Sultanate of Oman, Saudi Arabia and Mauritania, attracted 114 foreign projects during the same period, with a share of 78% of the total.
With an investment cost of approximately $3.8 billion, with a share exceeding 91% of the Arab total.
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The report added that Japan topped the list as the most important country investing in the region in the maritime transport sector during the past 23 years.
This is worth more than $784 million, representing 19% of the total, followed by Germany with 16%, and the United States with 15%.
Regarding inter-Arab investment in the sector, the report indicated that 6 Arab countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the Sultanate of Oman, Morocco and Egypt, invested in 11 inter-Arab projects at a cost exceeding $218 million.
Five Arab companies topped the list: Kanoo Shipping of Bahrain, Triple F of Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi Ports, GAS and Gulf Maritime Services of the UAE, with an 89% share of the total.
Increase in the size of the commercial fleet
The “Daman” report monitored a 4% increase in the size of the Arab commercial fleet to reach 2,900 ships according to actual ship ownership in 2025.
The capacity of its ships also increased by 4.6% to reach about 109 million metric tons of static weight in 2025, with a share of 5% of global shipping volume.
The report revealed that the average Arab ranking in the index of connectivity to the regular maritime navigation network witnessed improvement during the fourth quarter of 2024.
With the UAE, Morocco, Egypt and Saudi Arabia leading the Arab world.
Also, 71 Arab ports were ranked in the Global Navigation Network Connectivity Index out of more than 930 ports around the world.
The ports of Jebel Ali, Tangier Med, Khalifa, Jeddah, Alexandria, Port Said, Dammam, Damietta, Salalah and Casablanca topped the Arab list.
