Shipping from Dubai and the UAE to Syria

Longest-running corridor

Re-export out of Jebel Ali and JAFZA

Re-export is the dominant movement on the UAE to Syria lane: much of the cargo is not UAE-manufactured, but arrives in Dubai from Asia or Europe, rests in a Jebel Ali free zone warehouse or a mainland store, and leaves again for Syria. MIDTRANS SHIPPING AND SERVICES was built on this corridor and holds its offices at both ends of it.

The re-export status changes the filing. Goods held inside the Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority area, JAFZA, leave under a free zone exit bill and never enter UAE customs territory. Goods that already cleared into the mainland need the original import declaration closed and a re-export declaration raised with Dubai Customs, with the deposit or duty paid at import reclaimed against the exit. We prepare both filings from Jebel Ali.

The origin document follows the same logic. A Dubai Chamber certificate of re-export states the country where the goods were manufactured, not the United Arab Emirates, and a Syrian importer's file is rejected when that certificate names the UAE for goods made elsewhere. We match the certificate to the manufacturer's invoice before the cargo is loaded. Storage before re-export runs from the same warehouse.

Road route

By road from Jebel Ali to Damascus, Homs and Aleppo

Trailers load at Jebel Ali, cross Saudi Arabia, enter Jordan and reach Syria at the Nasib crossing on the Damascus highway. Beyond the crossing the highway runs directly to Damascus and continues north to Homs and Aleppo.

Delivery in Damascus runs into Adra industrial city, the warehouses of the Damascus countryside, or the city itself.

We use the road for consignments that have to arrive in one movement. Road freight and air freight are quoted against the same commodity description.

Our office estimates 7 to 10 days by road from Jebel Ali to Damascus through Nassib. Transit by air is confirmed for each shipment, and every transit time is confirmed with the price at booking.

From Sharjah

Shipping from Sharjah to Syria

We collect from anywhere in Sharjah. A full load leaves straight from the pickup point; goods from several suppliers in Sharjah and Dubai are first consolidated at our Jebel Ali warehouse and shipped as one load.

By road from Sharjah to Damascus through Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the Nasib crossing takes 7 to 10 days; by air from Dubai International or Al Maktoum International to Damascus. Our Damascus office clears and delivers the cargo.

Syrian import file

The document set Syrian customs works from

A Syria-bound file is assembled before the cargo leaves. It carries the commercial invoice, the packing list with marks and numbers matching the packages, the certificate of origin, and the transport document naming the Syrian consignee exactly as that consignee is registered.

Two steps catch first-time shippers on this lane. The certificate of origin and the invoice are attested by the chamber of commerce in Dubai and then legalised by the Syrian diplomatic mission before the documents travel. And where the commodity sits on a licensed or restricted list, the importer holds a prior import approval from the Syrian Ministry of Economy and Foreign Trade, together with the bank record covering the transfer, before customs registers the declaration.

Our Damascus office files the import declaration and follows the examination through to release. The full procedure is set out on our customs clearance in Syria page, and customs clearance is quoted as part of the freight, not after it.

Consolidation

One shipment out of several UAE suppliers

Buyers in Damascus rarely order from a single Dubai seller. They buy industrial spares in Deira, packaging in Sharjah and machinery from a JAFZA trader, and each seller wants the goods collected separately.

We take delivery of all of it at our Jebel Ali warehouse, tally it against each supplier's invoice, re-mark the cartons under one consignee, and load one shipment under one set of documents, with a certificate of origin per manufacturer. Cargo that arrived in a shared box is cross-stuffed into the Syria load instead of being shipped twice. Consignments below a full truck move as groupage on the same routing.

Cargo on this lane

What actually moves from the UAE to Syria

The steady traffic is building and finishing materials, electrical cable and switchgear, generators, pumps and industrial spares, food ingredients and packaging, agricultural equipment, and commercial vehicles carried as cargo. Project consignments such as a production line, a substation transformer or a batching plant move on a lowbed, with the route checked before loading.

MIDTRANS SHIPPING AND SERVICES carries commercial and industrial consignments on this corridor: full truck loads, part loads, project and heavy cargo, industrial equipment, raw materials and manufactured goods, each booked against a commercial invoice and a registered Syrian consignee. Vehicle shipping on this lane is commercial cargo against a commercial invoice, and air freight covers the urgent spares.

Corridor summary

Cargo collected in Dubai for Syrian consignees, by road or air

This page covers freight that starts in Dubai: goods bought from Dubai suppliers, including the industrial spares traders of Deira, stock held in a Jebel Ali free zone warehouse, and consignments that arrive in Dubai from Asia or Europe and leave again for Syria as re-exports. For the full UAE-wide corridor, including re-export filings and the Syrian document set, see shipping from the UAE to Syria.

The traffic is commercial and industrial: building and finishing materials, electrical cable and switchgear, generators, pumps and industrial spares, food ingredients and packaging, agricultural equipment, and commercial vehicles carried as cargo. Each consignment is booked against a commercial invoice and a registered Syrian consignee. Buyers in Damascus rarely order from a single Dubai seller, so one file often gathers goods from several suppliers.

Our Dubai office, open since 2009, runs the UAE bookings, the Jebel Ali warehouse and the clearance desk. Our Damascus office, established in 1998, clears the cargo in Syria and delivers it. Air cargo leaves through Dubai International or Al Maktoum International, and road freight enters Syria at Nassib (Jaber).

Equipment and cargo fit

Trailers and air cargo matched to the load

On the road leg the equipment follows the cargo: palletised manufactured goods travel on a curtainsider, steel and crated machinery on a flatbed, plant and transformers on a lowbed, and temperature-controlled goods in a reefer trailer. A truck is chosen on volume, gross weight, dimensions, loading method and legal axle limits together, because a load can fit the payload and still exceed the space or the road limits.

Goods for one Syrian buyer that arrived in Dubai in a shared box are cross-stuffed at Jebel Ali into the Syria load rather than shipped twice.

Commercial vehicles move as commercial cargo against a commercial invoice. Before booking, our Damascus office checks the Syrian import rules for the vehicle's age, type and specification, because those rules decide whether a vehicle can be imported at all. See vehicle shipping.

Air cargo covers commercial and industrial consignments such as spare parts holding up a production line, instruments, components and samples. By air we do not carry household goods, furniture, personal effects, baggage, small parcels or courier traffic; household moves travel as full shipments by road, see household furniture shipping to Syria.

Conditions that change the plan

Factors we review before we confirm a Dubai to Syria routing

Transit-country requirements. A road consignment crosses Saudi Arabia and Jordan under transit documentation, and the driver has to know which crossing point the declaration names. In Jordan the customs seal and a guarantee against the duty at risk stay in place until the exit is confirmed, and a broken seal or a route deviation puts that guarantee in question. We control the trucker directly on our own movements so that the exit is confirmed by us.

The arrangement at the crossing. Through-running at Nassib (Jaber) keeps one seal through the crossing to the consignee; transferring to a Syrian trailer means the load is tallied twice and must be palletised, banded and marked package by package. The choice changes the packing specification and the price.

Status of the goods and Syrian approvals. The re-export status decides the UAE filing, and a licensed commodity needs the importer's prior import approval before Syrian customs registers the declaration.

Carrier and airline terms. Carrier and airline acceptance and border and handling arrangements are checked against the specific shipment before booking.

What we need to review a request

What to send the Dubai office with a Syria request

Send the commodity and its intended use, the collection address in Dubai or the Jebel Ali warehouse holding the goods, the Syrian delivery address, the gross weight and cubic volume or the package dimensions, the ready date and required arrival date, and the delivery terms if they are agreed. Tell us whether the goods are UAE-origin, free-zone stock or re-export cargo, and name the Syrian consignee exactly as registered.

If the cargo comes from several suppliers, send the supplier list with a ready date for each, because that decides whether the shipment consolidates into one load or moves in two. Before collecting from a warehouse we confirm the release, the package data and the loading access. If the cargo is still at sea on its way to Jebel Ali, send the bill of lading and the invoice and we pick up the clearance from there.

Types of goods

Types of goods we carry from Dubai to Syria, and restricted items

Most cargo on this lane is commercial: building materials, electrical equipment, generators and pumps, industrial spares, food ingredients and packaging. Cars, new and used, travel by road on car carriers with Syrian customs clearance: see car shipping from Dubai to Syria. Household furniture moves only as a full truck: see household furniture shipping to Syria.

Restricted items need attention before collection. Goods on the Syrian licensed or restricted list need a prior import approval held by the importer. Dangerous goods are reviewed against the safety data sheet and the UN class before any booking. We do not carry loose personal effects, baggage, small parcels or courier items.

Services on this lane

UAE to Syria road freight and air cargo from one shipping company

Importers comparing shipping companies for the UAE to Syria lane usually need two services priced side by side. Road freight runs from Dubai through Saudi Arabia and Jordan to the Nassib crossing. Air freight goes to Damascus for urgent parts.

MIDTRANS SHIPPING AND SERVICES was founded in 1998 and is a FIATA member. The Dubai office handles the UAE exit and the Damascus office clears the cargo and delivers it. Cars and full household shipments to Syria are handled as separate services: car shipping from Dubai to Syria and household furniture shipping to Syria.