Transportation and Logistics in the UAE
Strategically located at the cross roads of Europe, Asia and Africa, the area now known as the UAE has been a centre for trade and commerce for many centuries. As early as the 15th century, sailors and merchants from the then-separate emirates were travelling to India and East Africa, and by the 18th Century, a huge fleet of Arab vessels, under the command of the Qawasim (a powerful UAE tribe – branches of which now rule both Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah), patrolled the waters of the Gulf and controlled passage along major shipping routes, until they were defeated by the British in the early 19th Century.
Ras Al Khaimah, which boasts the UAE’s longest coastline and a particularly strategic location on the Strait of Hormuz, a very important waterway that connects the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, played a pivotal role in the region’s history as a centre of commerce. Home to the Qawasim, it was the site of medieval Julfar, a major centre of trade and the birth place of the famous navigator Ahmed bin Majid, who was the author of a well-known treatise on sea navigation and showed the Portuguese the route from the eastern coast of Africa to India in 1498 - thus helping open marine trade routes between Asia and Europe. Today, the UAE is a major hub for international trade and business, boasting a state-of-the-art transportation infrastructure, which it is constantly expanding and improving.
With its strategic geographical location and business-friendly environment, including several free zones, the UAE is now a preferred shipping centre for East-West commerce. It is also a global aviation and tourism hub, with world-class airports and airlines.
Ports and Shipping in the UAE
Abu Dhabi and Dubai currently have the largest ports, but the other emirates also are expanding their port facilities.
Related Links
www.indexuae.com/Logistics
www.uaelinks.com/uae-shipping-transport
