Shipping from England to Dubai

Everything you need to know about shipping from England to Dubai!

The United Arab Emirates is the fourteenth largest export market for England. To transport cargo from the UK to Dubai, a distance of nearly 6,000 kilometers must be traveled by air, and more than twice that by sea. To ship goods from England to Dubai, it is necessary to cooperate with an international shipping company.

Certainly, many merchants or retail buyers have a desire to import goods from England. One of the available methods for this is to transfer cargo from England to UAE and import it to the country. IRdelivery company transports your goods in any volume and size (even a carton) from the UK to Dubai.

This article will help you navigate the complexities you may face when shipping between two countries. We will also give you information and guidance on shipping goods from England to Dubai, by air and sea.

Options available to ship cargo from UK to Dubai

You have two options for shipping goods from England to Dubai:

Maritime Transportation
Air transportation

Each of the above methods has advantages and disadvantages, which we will discuss below.

Sea shipping from UK to UAE

Load less than a full container or LCL:

The “LCL” method in sea transportation means that your goods are placed in a shared container with other people’s cargo, instead of being placed in a dedicated container. LCL is the most cost-effective way to import goods from the UK to the UAE, for small consignments.

Full load or FCL:

“FCL” means your shipment will be placed in a dedicated container. In this method, you pay for the use and transportation of a container at a fixed rate. If your shipment is large, this method can be more cost-effective for you than LCL.

Air freight from UK to UAE

The fastest way to ship cargo from England to Dubai is by air. However, keep in mind that using air freight is often much more expensive than sea freight.

If your load is small and you need it to reach you as soon as possible, this option can be useful for you.

How much does it cost to ship cargo from England to Dubai?

In general, the cost of shipping cargo from England to Dubai by sea is cheaper than by air. As we mentioned, except when your cargo is small, and you need it to reach you faster, the sea method is usually used to transport the cargo. However, in some cases, the cost of sea and air freight is not much different!

However, the cost of shipping goods from UK to Dubai depends on various conditions. The larger your shipment, the higher the price of air freight compared to sea freight.

When you are deciding on how to ship your cargo from the UK, you need to consider whether your cargo is worth paying more for air travel!

IRdelivery company transports all your shipments, regardless of weight and volume, at the lowest price from the UK to Dubai. Contact us to calculate the exact price of your freight.

How long does it take to ship goods from England to Dubai?

Airfreight is the fastest way to move goods between the seller and the recipient, enabling you to move your shipment between the UK and the UAE within days. But on the other hand, if you use the sea and container method, you have to wait a few weeks for your cargo to reach its destination.

How long does it take to ship cargo from the UK to the UAE by sea?

The transit and shipping time from UK to Dubai is not long compared to some sea shipping routes in other countries. Normally your goods are available for delivery at Jebel Ali, Khor Fakkan or Khalifa Port within four to five weeks of dispatch from the UK.

Below you can see the approximate transit time of goods between the ports of England and the United Arab Emirates:

London to Jebel Ali – 27 days FCL
London to Abu Dhabi – 29 days FCL
London or Liverpool to Sharjah – 31 days FCL
Southampton to Jebel Ali – 27 days FCL

How long does it take to send air cargo from UK to Dubai?

Although the duration of a cargo or passenger flight between the UK and the UAE is known, the whole process of transporting cargo from Angli to Dubai by plane takes a little longer. In many cases, your cargo will be consolidated with other goods before departure, and will need to be separated many times upon arrival in the UAE.

In addition, it takes time to complete customs procedures in both the United Kingdom and the UAE. In general, it takes a week to transport cargo from England to Dubai by plane.

However, depending on the location of the origin airport, IRdelivery can transport your cargo to Dubai by air within 4 to 7 days. For more information in this field, contact us.

Customs clearance in UK and UAE

To ship cargo from the UK to Dubai by sea or air, it is always necessary for your cargo to go through customs clearance. Export customs procedures are carried out before your shipment leaves the UK, and import customs clearance and procedures are carried out upon arrival in the UAE.

While both countries use modern clearance systems, some documentation is still required.

The freight company can help you in clearing the goods from the customs of origin and destination. However, you will need to have some documents ready for export from the UK, as well as for customs procedures in the UAE.

The documents you need depend on the type of business you run. However, typically, these documents include the following:

Commercial invoice
Packing list
Certificate of Origin
Letter of credit or other terms of payment (depends on the contract between the parties)
Bill of lading for shipping by ship, or airline bill for shipping by air (IRdelivery will prepare this for you)

IRdelivery company can carry out all procedures of goods clearance and customs affairs for you at the origin and destination, and prepare the required documents. For more information, contact us.

Which option should we choose to ship goods from England to Dubai?

In the following, we will discuss in more detail the various methods of shipping goods from England to Dubai, and learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Shipping details from UK to UAE

If the goods you are importing from UK to UAE are of medium value, sea freight is the best option. It is also suitable for traders who are in no rush to receive their shipment. In fact, UK to Dubai shipping is the main mode of commercial transport between the UK and the UAE.

Although there are many different ways to ship cargo from the UK to Dubai, the basic process of commercial shipping is that your cargo is transported from one port to another after being placed in a container.

One thing that should be taken into account when transporting cargo by ship is that you must specify whether you intend to send your cargo with a dedicated container or a shared container! If your cargo is relatively small, and you don’t have a problem with your cargo being transported alongside other people’s cargo, choose LCL shipping.

For larger shipments, as well as for goods that are not suitable for shared container space, FCL is the most suitable option. Of course, you might think that using this method, you must fill the container! In fact, you can ship even a small shipment with the FCL method, even if the container is not full.

In this way, you rent the container and it doesn’t matter how much you fill it. Whether the container is full or empty, you pay the full rental fee of the container.

Tips on shipping between UK and UAE

Cargo containers Type, size and capacity:

Before shipping cargo from the UK to Dubai in a container by ship, your shipping company must ensure that there is sufficient space on board. Ships’ cargoes are carefully calculated, so the shipping line must know in advance what type and size of container will occupy the deck space.

If you use FCL shipping, you can easily determine the type and size of your container. For LCL, you don’t need to do anything, because the shipping company itself will check the suitable container size.

The standard dimensions of containers for shipping cargo from England to Dubai are as follows:

20-foot container – capacity of 33.2 cubic meters. Ten standard pallets can be placed in this container.
40 feet container – 67.7 cubic meters capacity. 21 standard pallets can be placed in this type of container.

Choose the right shipping service:

When you plan to use the shipping services of an international company such as IRdelivery, it is necessary to specify the type of shipping service from England to Dubai in addition to knowing the size and type of your container. You can choose one of the following four services:

Door-to-door transportation: This service includes all transportation steps from the door of the factory or the seller’s warehouse at the source to the destination of the recipient. • Port-to-port transportation: This service includes sea transportation only. In this method, domestic transportation to ports is the responsibility of the seller or cargo owner. Door to port transportation: This service includes all transportation from
The door of the factory or seller’s warehouse in England, to the port in the UAE: in this method, the cargo owner must carry out the transportation of the cargo after unloading at the port of the UAE.
Transportation from the port in England, to the recipient’s destination: in this method, the seller or the cargo owner must arrange for the cargo to be loaded onto the ship. Transportation to the UAE, and delivery at the desired location of the cargo owner, is with the shipping company.

The shipping service depends on the type and volume of your cargo, contact us to find out about the service that is suitable for you to ship cargo from the UK to Dubai.

Guide to LCL cargo transportation

To use LCL shipping, you need to reserve the space required for your cargo in the container. You send the details and dimensions of your cargo to your shipping company. They will then arrange for your goods to be consolidated into one container shipment with other smaller shipments traveling the same route. Consolidation takes place before your shipment leaves the UK.

Upon arrival in Dubai, your shipping company will unload the goods from the container, after which your cargo can be transported to its final destination.

LCL sea freight services are suitable for any shipment that is not enough to fill a container. However, if your cargo takes up more than half of the container’s capacity, you have the option of choosing FCL shipping. If you want your cargo to be transported in its own container, choose FCL, even if the container is not full.

FCL Freight Forwarding Guide

In FCL shipping, there is no consolidation of cargo with other cargo. The shipping company loads your goods into one or more containers and seals them. Once loaded, the container is shipped, and its contents remain intact and sealed until it is picked up by the importer. The only exception is if the customs authorities decide to open the container to inspect the contents.

If you can manage your cargo to fill a 20-foot or 40-foot container, FCL is very cost-effective. Because there is no need to wait for the container to be completed in this method, it is faster than LCL.

Air freight from UK to Dubai

So far, you have noticed that the option of shipping cargo from England to Dubai by ship has no limitations and is very affordable in terms of cost. However, this method is not the fastest way to move and ship cargo from the UK to Dubai!

If you are in a situation where you need your cargo urgently, you should use the air freight method. Air transportation is expensive without exaggeration, but it has certain advantages over ships. Apart from the short transit time, the advantages of air transport include the following:

Flexibility: usually there are several routes and flights in shipping cargo from UK to Dubai by air. You can choose the airport of your choice in England or UAE for cargo transportation.
Predictability of cargo delivery times: Airlines operate on a fixed schedule, and delays are rarely more than a few hours.
Security: While shipping by sea has its own security and natural challenges, shipping cargo from the UK to Dubai by air is at the highest level of security.

At the same time, air transportation comes with limitations. For example, if you have several pallets of goods to transport, the cost of sending them by air may exceed the price of your shipment!

Sometimes the cost of transporting cargo from England to Dubai by plane may be more than six times the LCL method! Also, some bulk or dangerous cargoes cannot be transported by plane.

In general, if speed, flexibility, reliability or higher security are your top priorities for shipping your cargo, choose air freight.

Contact the experts of IRdelivery to help you choose the best shipping option from England to Dubai.

Guide to ports for shipping cargo from UK to Dubai

With information about the ports of origin and destination of your trade route, you can better choose the right option for shipping cargo from UK to Dubai.

Origin cargo ports in UK

Grangemouth Harbour

Port information:

Located in Scotland, the northernmost point of England.

Scotland’s largest commercial port.
70% of Scotland’s population lives within an hour of this port.
Excellent road and rail links to all areas of Scotland.
Owned by: Forth Ports
Annual container volume: 250,000 TEUs

Port of Southampton

Port information:

Located on the south coast of England.
It is connected to major British cities by rail and road.
Four container ships can be loaded or unloaded simultaneously.
Has a specialized terminal for fruits and vegetables.
14,000 square meters of storage capacity in the refrigerator.
Owned by: Associated British Ports.
Annual container volume: more than 1.9 million TEUs

TEESPORT PORT

Port information:

Located on the northeast coast of England.
This two-kilometer port is located on the bank of the Tiss River.
The third largest port in England.
Among the ten busiest ports in Western Europe.
Has two container terminals
Owned by: PD Ports
Annual container volume: 500,000 TEUs

Port of Felixstowe

Port information:

Handles almost half of all UK container traffic.
7th busiest port in Europe.
Located in the northeast of London, the capital of England.
One of the 50 busiest ports in the world.
Owned by: Hutchison Port Holdings
Annual container volume: more than 3.8 million TEUs

Port of Belfast

Port information:

Top container port in Northern Ireland.
It is responsible for nearly 20% of the volume of commercial transportation in the island of Ireland.
Has bulk, dry and liquid cargo facilities as well as a container terminal.
Has six container cranes for loading and unloading ships.
Owned by: Belfast Harbor Commissioner.
Annual container volume: 125,000 TEUs

Other ports in the UK

In addition to the ports mentioned above, you can also export to the United Arab Emirates from the ports of London and Liverpool.

Ports of destination in the United Arab Emirates

Khor Fakkan

Port information:

The main port of Sharjah
The only port in the United Arab Emirates that is not located in the Strait of Hormuz.
A famous port for high-speed business processes
Providing first-class service for fast cargo processing
An important transportation center of the Middle East.
Owned by: Sharjah Port Authority.
Annual container volume: more than 3 million TEUs.

Bandar Khalifa

Port information:

A developing port with a capacity that expects exponential growth.
An ultra-modern and advanced container port.
It has the only semi-automated container terminal in the region.
Uses GPS equipped container tracking.
Integrated customs systems, services and procedures.
Owned by: Abu Dhabi Ports.
Annual container volume: more than 14.5 million TEUs

Jebel Ali port

Port information:

The largest port in the Middle East.
Known as the best port in the region in the last 25 years.
Jebel Ali was built in 1970 and quickly surpassed Bandar Rashed and became the main port of the UAE.
The world’s largest man-made port.
The 10th busiest container port in the world.
Owned by: DP World.
Annual container volume: more than 14.5 million TEUs

Guide to airports for cargo from the UK to Dubai

In the following, we will explain to you the information about the airports that provide the goods transit route between England and Dubai.

Origin airports in the UK

Manchester Airport

Airport information:

Located 11 kilometers southwest of Manchester city center.
It is currently undergoing a £1 billion expansion plan to be completed by 2024.
It flies to about 210 destinations around the world.
Manchester has two runways and a cargo terminal.
Offers direct flights to UAE.
Destination airports in United Arab Emirates: Abu Dhabi, Dubai.

Birmingham Airport

Airport information:

Located in the center of England, with connecting roads to the rest of the country.
Ideal for export from the Midlands.
Has more than 80 years of experience
Annual load capacity of more than 8000 tons.
Offers direct flights to the United Arab Emirates.
Destination airports in United Arab Emirates: Abu Dhabi, Dubai.

London Airport (Heathrow)

Airport information:

One of the busiest airports in the world.
It has modern and extensive transportation facilities.
The total value of transported goods is 133 billion pounds annually.
Offers several direct flights to Emirates.
Destination airports in the United Arab Emirates: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah.

Glasgow Airport

Airport information:

Scotland’s second busiest airport, after Edinburgh Airport.
Britain’s 8th busiest airport.
Located 16 kilometers west of Glasgow city center.
Offers direct flights to UAE.
Destination airports in United Arab Emirates: Dubai.

Other airports in the UK

Shipping from England to Dubai is possible through London Gatwick and Luton airports.

Destination airports in UAE

Dubai International Airport

Airport information:

The 6th busiest cargo airport in the world.
The main air transportation gateway of the United Arab Emirates.
Owned by Emirates Sky Cargo, the second largest cargo transportation company in the world.
It has a cargo terminal known as the “Cargo Village” of Dubai Airport.
It has an annual transportation capacity of 2.5 million tons.
Has several direct passenger and cargo flights from England
Connected airports in England: London Heathrow, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, London Gatwick, Stansted, Edinburgh.

Dubai Al Maktoum Airport

Airport information:

It was opened in 2010
It is primarily a cargo airport
12 million tons of annual transportation
The total cost of the airport is estimated at 82 billion dollars.
Connecting airports in the UK: London Heathrow.

Abu Dhabi Airport

Airport information:

The second busiest airport in the UAE in terms of transportation.
The annual cargo capacity is nearly one million tons.

It is connected to more than 60 countries through 30 airlines.

It has direct flights from several UK airports.
A capacity expansion program is underway, which will eventually enable the handling of 2 million tons of cargo per year.
Connecting airports in UK: Birmingham, London Heathrow, Manchester.

Sharjah Airport

Airport information:

This airport has modern cargo handling facilities.
Capable of handling a wide variety of import shipments, including temperature-controlled shipping.
Has five load terminals.
It can accommodate 13 aircraft.
Direct cargo flight from London Heathrow
Connecting airports in the UK: London Heathrow.