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The much-respected Leading Maritime Cities of the World 2022 report, co-authored by DNV and Menon Economics, has recently been published. The report benchmarks each maritime city according to five key pillars – Shipping, Maritime Finance & Law, Maritime Technology, Ports & Logistics and Attractiveness & Competitiveness.
Dramatic events have taken place since the last report was published in 2019, mainly due to the pandemic, but significant changes in the world rankings are also the result of shifting priorities due to decarbonisation and digitalisation.
Dubai remains the leading maritime hub in the Middle East, Africa, and India region, positioned in 13th place overall, one place behind Athens. Globally, Singapore is once again the leading maritime city, followed by Rotterdam and London. Two other Middle East cities feature in the top 50 rankings for the first time. Abu Dhabi is in 32nd place and Doha in 43rd place, largely due to strong growth in their respective ports sectors.
The UAE is, as a result of Dubai and Abu Dhabi’s strong showing, one of the few countries, outside of the bigger nations such as China, the United States and Japan, to have two cities in the top 50.
Experts consulted during the research for the report predict that Dubai will continue to grow in importance, and it is expected to be in 6th place overall by 2027. However, it faces tough competition from Hamburg, Copenhagen and Hong Kong. A significant plus point for Dubai is that it is regarded by industry experts as one of the five most attractive areas for headquarters’ relocation.
Co-author of the latest Leading Maritime Cities of the World report, Benjamin Dineshkar, DNV Head of Maritime Advisory Middle East & Africa, points out that there is inevitably something of a lag between the report and actual events on the ground. “For example, Dubai has made changes to regulations on visa requirements, business set ups and operations, which is expected make it even more attractive as a location. These initiatives and their results could be part of the next edition of the report,” he commented.
There is a lot of positivity around Abu Dhabi also. “In the past, Abu Dhabi had largely focused on its internal state-owned ventures,” Dineshkar added. “But the growth of Khalifa Port and the subsequent efforts to attract international companies into the emirate, have made a difference and resulted in the formation of an emerging cluster of maritime businesses.”
He also noted that the report is dynamic, and the methodology is continuously being improved to keep up with the latest trends in the evolving global maritime industry. “DNV has extensive experience working on maritime cluster studies globally, so our work on this report supports governmental authorities and related entities in developing the policy framework and recommendations needed to grow the cluster in the different cities. Our aim is to drive evolution in the maritime industry and support shipowners and other stakeholders to see where the key maritime support centres are,” Dineshkar concluded.
Leading Maritime Cities of the World 2022 is available to download free of charge from the DNV website. Leading Maritime Cities report 2022: Singapore still in top spot followed by Rotterdam and London (dnv.com)
