Shipping from USA to Syria

Corridor summary

US equipment and supplies for Syrian importers, through Latakia, Tartous and Damascus

This corridor carries cargo from US manufacturers and suppliers to Syrian importers: oil and gas equipment, plant and generators, medical supplies including temperature-controlled cargo, packaged, chilled and frozen food, technology and electronics, vehicles and machinery, and industrial inputs such as polymers, metals and chemicals. Most of it sails from a US port to Latakia or Tartous and is cleared and delivered inland by our Damascus office.

Midtrans Shipping And Services was established in Damascus in 1998 on a family logistics heritage that began in Syria in 1960, and works from offices in Syria and the United Arab Emirates and a partner office in Guangzhou and Hong Kong. For US cargo our approved agent in Houston works the origin end and our own team in Damascus the destination.

Route options

Direct to Latakia or Tartous, or through Mersin, Beirut, Aqaba or Jebel Ali

Primary: a US port to Latakia or Tartous. Full containers move on direct or transhipment services to Latakia or Tartous; smaller shipments travel as LCL in a consolidation. Breakbulk and out-of-gauge pieces are generally routed to Tartous. This routing has the fewest handlings: a full container is not opened on the way. See FCL container shipping to Syria and LCL consolidation.

Mersin, then road through Turkey. The container discharges at Mersin and runs by road to a gate such as Cilvegözü (Bab al-Hawa) or Öncüpınar (Bab al-Salameh). The trade-off is handling: the normal case is a back-to-back transfer to a Syrian trailer in the customs yard, so the cargo is tallied twice and must travel palletised and marked. See Turkey to Syria shipping.

Beirut, then road through Lebanon. The cargo enters Syria at a crossing such as Jdeidet Yabous (Masnaa). The trade-off is a second movement and a transit country. See Lebanon to Syria shipping.

Aqaba, then road through Jordan. From Jordan's Red Sea port the cargo runs north under customs transit and crosses at Jaber into Nassib on the Damascus highway. The trade-off is a road leg the length of Jordan and a sealed transit file that must be closed at the exit office. See Jordan to Syria shipping.

Jebel Ali, then sea or road. Cargo stored or grouped at our Jebel Ali warehouse continues by sea to Latakia or Tartous, or by road through Saudi Arabia and Jordan to Nassib. The cost is a second leg and a UAE exit or re-export filing, with a certificate of re-export naming the United States as the country of manufacture; US-origin goods can also remain subject to US re-export rules. See Jebel Ali warehousing and consolidation.

Air. Spare parts for a stopped plant, medical supplies, electronics and samples leave a US air gateway and reach Damascus through a connecting hub named in the quote. Large orders can be split, urgent items by air and the rest by sea, with a separate invoice for each mode. Every routing is confirmed at booking. See air freight.

Gateways and ports

East, Gulf and West Coast ports, routed to Latakia or Tartous

US cargo loads at the port that fits the supplier's location and the Eastern Mediterranean sailings: New York/New Jersey, Norfolk, Savannah or Charleston on the East Coast, Houston on the Gulf Coast, and Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland or Seattle/Tacoma on the West Coast. East and Gulf Coast ports face the Atlantic route to the Mediterranean; West Coast loading is used when the supplier is in the western states. These are load ports, not MIDTRANS offices. Houston is where our approved agent works, and a natural load port for Gulf Coast oil and gas equipment.

In Syria, Latakia is the principal container gateway and the shorter road to Aleppo and the north; Tartous is the conventional and bulk port and the shorter road to Homs and Damascus. In Damascus our office clears cargo at the port or the airport and delivers to the consignee's warehouse, plant or project site. Jebel Ali is run from our Dubai office.

Equipment and cargo fit

Containers and reefers, flat racks and breakbulk, RoRo for vehicles

Sea freight is booked in 20 ft, 40 ft or 40 ft high cube containers, FCL or LCL by volume. Industrial inputs travel in full containers. Temperature-controlled medical cargo goes in reefer containers or as temperature-managed air freight, with the required range on the booking; see temperature-controlled freight.

Plant equipment, generators, transformers and packaged units are planned from the manufacturer's drawings (dimensions, weights, centre of gravity, lifting points), then placed on flat rack, open top, breakbulk or RoRo on MAFI trailers, with road permits and route checks at both ends. Oil and gas equipment loads at Houston or another Gulf Coast port; we move it as freight and do not provide oilfield services, installation or engineering. See project cargo and oil and gas logistics to Syria.

Vehicles go RoRo where a RoRo sailing serves the route, or in a container, which suits single cars and vehicles that need extra protection. Machinery that can be driven goes RoRo; machinery that cannot may need a flat rack or MAFI roll trailer. See vehicle shipping. Chemicals travel with a safety data sheet, and dangerous goods need carrier acceptance. We do not handle household goods, furniture, personal effects, baggage, relocation cargo or courier shipments.

Documentation set

The US export file and the Syrian import file

US side. The export classification, EAR99 or an Export Control Classification Number (ECCN), which telecom and network equipment often carries because of encryption or performance; the licence or licence exception used; the destination control statement on the invoice for controlled items, the EEI filing reference where the Electronic Export Information is filed in AES, and the party screening against the OFAC Specially Designated Nationals list and the US Consolidated Screening List. Vehicles need the title and export paperwork US Customs requires at the port.

Shipping and Syrian side. A commercial invoice with model and part numbers, a packing list with weights and dimensions per package, the bill of lading or air waybill naming the consignee exactly as registered, and a certificate of origin legalised where the Syrian side requires it. A licensed commodity needs the importer's prior import approval from the Syrian Ministry of Economy and Foreign Trade. Add safety data sheets, registration or health documents for medicines and food, and ISPM 15 marking on wooden packaging. The Aqaba routing adds the Jordanian transit file; Jebel Ali adds the UAE re-export papers (customs clearance in the UAE).

Our Damascus office checks the HS code and the file before sailing and confirms when it is complete; duties, taxes and permits are confirmed with the Syrian customs authority and the appointed broker (customs clearance in Syria, customs clearance hub).

Conditions that change the plan

Sanctions, export controls and route factors we check for each file

US sanctions. Executive Order 14312, signed on 30 June 2025, ended the US Syria sanctions programme with effect from 1 July 2025, and OFAC removed the Syrian Sanctions Regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations on 26 August 2025. The Caesar Act was repealed by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, signed on 18 December 2025, and the State Department rescinded Syria's designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism on 24 August 2026. Sanctions on named people and entities are still in force, including Bashar al-Assad and his associates, captagon traffickers and terrorist groups, so every party to a shipment is screened.

US export controls. The Export Administration Regulations still apply. Since 2 September 2025 most everyday goods classified EAR99 can go to Syria under License Exception Syria Peace and Prosperity (SPP), while items with a specific classification on the Commerce Control List still need a licence from the Bureau of Industry and Security unless another exception applies. At 11 September 2026 the Bureau of Industry and Security had not yet published the export-control changes expected to follow the end of the terrorism designation, so we check the rules in force for each file. Official sources: OFAC Syria sanctions status, OFAC action of 24 August 2026 and BIS Syria export controls. This summary is for shipment planning and is not legal advice.

Export decisions. The exporter remains responsible for its own export decisions; we make sure none of the four checks is skipped and ask again when the answers do not fit the product. Where a licence is needed, the sailing is planned to the licence, not the ready date.

Carrier, port and Syrian rules. The Syrian port a service calls, any relay, RoRo availability and carrier acceptance of dangerous or out-of-gauge cargo are checked per booking, with empty return terms and free time at Latakia or Tartous. Prior import approvals and vehicle import rules are checked with our Damascus office first. On the road options, whether the load runs through or transfers at the crossing is stated before loading.

What we need to review a request

Cargo, export and consignee details for a USA to Syria quote

Send the US pickup address and any preferred load port, the commodity and HS code if known, the package count, gross weight, dimensions or CBM, the ready date, the Incoterm if agreed, and any out-of-gauge or dangerous pieces. For the export check, send the classification and the expected licence or exception, with the buyer, consignee, end user, any intermediary and the end use.

For Syria, send the consignee name exactly as registered, the delivery point, the preferred port and whether a prior import approval is held.