Dubai and Abu Dhabi have recorded strong results across several maritime indicators in the 2026 Leading Maritime Cities (LMC) report from DNV and Menon Economics.
Compiled by DNV and Menon Economics, the LMC report assesses which cities provide the strongest environment for maritime companies and professionals to connect, operate and grow. The report benchmarks each city across five pillars: Shipping, Maritime Finance and Law, Maritime Technology, Ports and Logistics, and Attractiveness and Competitiveness.
Dubai ranks 12th overall, with notable gains in the Attractiveness & Competitiveness pillar, where it climbed from 15th to 6th place and strengthened its performance in Finance & Law. Maritime experts also rank Dubai second as a preferred location for maritime headquarters and third among the cities expected to lead the maritime sector in five years.
Abu Dhabi climbed significantly, rising from 31st to 15th place in the Maritime Finance and Law pillar and from 29th up to 16th in the Shipping pillar.
Cristina Saenz de Santa Maria, CEO Maritime at DNV
Cristina Saenz de Santa Maria, CEO Maritime at DNV, said: "This has been a year of disruption and adjustment for the maritime industry. Faced with these challenges, the leading maritime cities have demonstrated that leadership is built not on a single activity, but on breadth. Their results reflect the strength of the maritime communities they have built and their ability to respond as the industry changes. Looking ahead, continued collaboration, investment and knowledge-sharing will be essential to build on this progress and advance the maritime industry together".
Benjamin Dineshkar, Head of Maritime Advisory Middle East & Africa, said: “Dubai and Abu Dhabi bring complementary strengths to the UAE’s maritime cluster. Dubai’s international connectivity and attractiveness as a location for maritime business sit alongside Abu Dhabi’s strong results in market capitalization and rapidly growing fleet. This breadth of capability reinforces the UAE’s role as an important maritime hub and provides a strong foundation for its continued development.”
Dr. Erik Jakobsen, Partner and Chair of Menon Economics, said: “The ranking looks beyond the scale of maritime activity in a city. In Attractiveness and Competitiveness, a strong position depends on the wider conditions for maritime businesses to operate and attract talent. In Ports and Logistics, the assessment considers how effectively a hub connects physical port activity with international logistics and the changing needs of shipping. Maritime Finance and Law measures the depth of the financial and legal capabilities supporting maritime business. These results show why it is important to look at the individual pillars as well as the overall ranking”.
Now in its seventh edition, the study initially assessed more than 15,000 cities using objective maritime indicators to identify 50 candidates for the final ranking. These cities were then benchmarked using 48 objective and subjective indicators across five pillars. The assessment incorporates responses from more than 200 maritime industry experts globally.
The 2026 edition introduces new and updated indicators to reflect changes in the maritime industry and the factors shaping the competitiveness of maritime cities, including the energy transition, technology, talent and resilience. As the framework has evolved, changes in rankings compared with previous editions should be considered in the context of these methodological updates.
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