Setup guide
How to start a shipping or maritime company in the UAE
Ship owning, ship management and shipping agency are three distinct activities with different approvals and different liability. The Federal Transport Authority regulates the sector; vessel registration runs on an entirely separate track from company licensing.
What it costs
The cost drivers for this trade.
The UAE is a major maritime centre, with Fujairah among the world's largest bunkering hubs by virtue of sitting outside the Strait of Hormuz, and Jebel Ali handling 15.5m TEU in 2024.
Figures on this page
UAE logistics market estimated around USD 65bn in 2025, forecast to roughly USD 112bn by 2035 (5.5% CAGR). Jebel Ali handled 15.5 million TEU in 2024. Road freight accounts for about 46% of the market and Dubai for about 39%.
Market research aggregates and DP World reporting, 2024–25
How the business makes money here
Asset-heavy if you own vessels, asset-light if you manage or broker. Ship management earns fees without the capital exposure; ownership earns charter income and carries depreciation, financing and drydocking. Bunkering is a volume and working capital business on thin margins.
What it costs to start
Published "from" prices compare licence fees and ignore everything that actually moves the total. These are the variables that decide what a shipping & maritime business pays in year one.
- Activity scope
- Owning, managing and broking each carry different requirements. Licensing all three is more expensive than licensing the one you actually do.
- Vessel registration
- Separate from the company entirely — flagging, classing and registration have their own costs and timelines.
- Port access
- Bunkering, storage and repair all require the relevant port authority's own approvals.
- Storage
- Tank farm capacity at Fujairah is the largest single variable for anyone in the fuel trade.
We quote a single all-in figure with every government fee itemised beside our own, before you commit. Ranges published anywhere — including here — are indicative.
Why here
Regional advantages
Fujairah's position outside Hormuz
A genuine strategic advantage that has built a world-scale bunkering and storage economy.
Deep maritime services cluster
Class societies, brokers, insurers and lawyers are all present, which matters when something goes wrong.
Dubai Maritime City provides water access
Repair, yacht and marine services can operate with actual berthing rather than an inland office.
And the other side
Regional disadvantages
Three distinct activities
Owning, managing and agency have different licences, liabilities and approvals. Blurring them causes disputes.
Vessel registration is separate
Flagging, classing and registration run on their own track with their own cost and timeline.
Capital intensity for ownership
Vessels depreciate and require drydocking whether or not they trade.
Approvals
Beyond the trade licence.
- Vessel registration
- Separate from the company licence — a ship is registered, flagged and classed on its own track.
- Port operations
- The relevant port authority, per port.
- Bunkering
- Federal and emirate approvals, plus environmental conditions.
The sequence
How the setup runs.
Confirm the activity and the licence category
Map what you actually do onto the authority's activity schedule and identify any external approval it triggers, before a name is reserved or a fee is paid.
Choose the jurisdiction
Free zone or mainland, decided by who receives your invoices — then narrowed by visa quota, premises need and cost.
Reserve the trade name and obtain initial approval
Three candidate names checked against the register and the naming rules, then initial approval confirming no objection to you owning this business.
Prepare and notarise the incorporation documents
Memorandum of association, shareholder resolutions, attestations where required, and a power of attorney if you are not in the country.
Take the licence, establishment card and immigration file
The company now exists, can contract and can sponsor residence visas.
Complete residence, banking and registrations
Medical and Emirates ID, corporate bank account, corporate tax registration and any VAT, ESR or UBO obligation the structure carries.
Shortlist
Where to license it.
Four worth looking at for this activity, and why each one is on the list. All 6 are in the finder.
Questions
Fujairah for bunkering and fuel storage, because it sits outside the Strait of Hormuz. Dubai Maritime City and Hamriyah for repair, management and marine services on the western coast.
No. A ship is registered, flagged and classed on its own track, separate from the company licence and with its own authority, timeline and cost.
It is the only UAE emirate on the Gulf of Oman, so vessels reach it without entering the Strait of Hormuz. That single geographic fact explains why it is one of the largest bunkering hubs in the world.
One question
Who will be paying your invoices?
Textbook free zone. Re-export through JAFZA, SAIF or KEZAD without the goods entering the domestic market is exactly what customs suspension was designed for, and the duty saving is real.
Compare the two routesOr just ask usDomestic distribution and last-mile delivery are mainland transport activities requiring emirate transport authority permits. A free zone licence covers the international leg and stops at the zone gate.
Compare the two routesOr just ask usMost forwarders end up with both — a free zone entity for the international movement and a mainland partner or branch for domestic distribution. Structuring that deliberately beats discovering it.
Answer five questions insteadOr just ask us