Best Sea Freight Company in Saudi Arabia +966546575837

Sea freight to and from Saudi Arabia: full FCL and shared LCL containers in 20 ft, 40 ft and 40 ft high cube, car shipping on RoRo vessels or inside containers, from Jeddah Islamic Port, King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam and the ports of Jubail, Yanbu and Jazan to Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas, with packing, clearance, storage and delivery to the door.

p>Sea freight is the most economical way to move large loads to and from Saudi Arabia: the furniture from a whole home, a car, or commercial goods by the tonne. We ship from the Kingdom’s main ports, Jeddah Islamic Port on the Red Sea, King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam on the Arabian Gulf, and the ports of Jubail, Yanbu and Jazan, to ports around the world: Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and the Gulf states. A full container just for you, space in a shared container, or a car on a RoRo vessel, with packing, loading and customs clearance at both ends.

In this guide27ShowHide

What makes a sea freight company the best?
The sea freight services we offer
Container types and sizes
Full or shared container?
Saudi ports: which one suits your shipment?
Approximate sea freight times from the Kingdom
Shipping cars by sea
Packing furniture for sea freight
Customs clearance and documents
From the port to your door
What determines the price of sea freight?
Sea, air or land?
Storing furniture before or after shipping
Insuring your sea shipment
What cannot be shipped by sea
Common sea freight mistakes
Steps to ship by sea with us
Frequently asked questions about sea freight in Saudi Arabia
What is the best sea freight company in Saudi Arabia?
How long does sea freight from Saudi Arabia take?
What’s the difference between FCL and LCL?
How much does a 20 ft and a 40 ft container hold?
Which port should I ship from?
Do you ship cars by sea?
What if my shipment is smaller than a container?
Do you store furniture until the vessel’s date?
What people search for when looking for sea freight

Before you choose a sea freight company:

Container: 20 ft, 40 ft or 40 ft high cube, as a full FCL or shared LCL load.
Ports: Jeddah for the west, Europe and Africa; Dammam for the east and Asia.
Cars: on RoRo vessels or inside a closed container.
Time: days to Red Sea ports, and weeks to Europe and the Americas.
Price: depends on the container, the port and the destination; send us the details and we’ll reply with a price.

What makes a sea freight company the best?

“Best” doesn’t mean cheapest on paper. A good company is one that gets your furniture or goods there intact and on a known date, without surprise costs at the port. That’s why we judge a company on specific things you can ask about before you book:

A clear price and what it covers: transport to the port, port charges, clearance, the sea freight itself and delivery at the destination, or which of these it leaves out.
A real booking with a shipping line: the vessel’s name and sailing date, not a vague promise.
Packing that suits the sea: a voyage of several weeks in heat and humidity needs different packing from a domestic move.
An accurate packing list: it’s the basis of clearance at both ends, and any mistake in it holds the container up.
Follow-up until delivery: the container number and the bill of lading, with updates at every stage.
Optional insurance: for valuable shipments and cars.

The sea freight services we offer

Service	Best for	How it is priced
Full FCL container	A whole home’s furniture, large volumes of commercial goods	One price for the whole container
Shared LCL container	One or two rooms of furniture, cartons, small quantities of goods	Per cubic metre
RoRo car shipping	Cars that can be driven onto the vessel	Per car, by size
Car inside a container	Valuable cars, or a car with furniture	Container price
Refrigerated container	Food, dates and sensitive medicines	Container price
Special containers	Large equipment and machinery: open-top or flat-rack	By load

On top of the shipping itself, we add what most customers need: professional packing, dismantling and reassembly, transport from your home to the port, customs clearance, and temporary storage if you have to wait for the vessel.

Container types and sizes

A full FCL container loaded and sealed at the warehouse

Container	Approx. internal dimensions	Approx. capacity	Best for
20 ft	5.9 × 2.35 × 2.39 m	About 33 cubic metres	A two- or three-bedroom flat, or heavy goods
40 ft	12 × 2.35 × 2.39 m	About 67 cubic metres	A medium villa or large home
40 ft high cube	12 × 2.35 × 2.69 m	About 76 cubic metres	A large villa or tall furniture
Refrigerated 20 or 40 ft	Slightly smaller because of the insulation	Depends on size	Temperature-sensitive goods

Dimensions vary slightly from one shipping line to another. To estimate the volume of your belongings in cubic metres, use the CBM calculator, or send us photos of your rooms and we’ll estimate it for you.

Full or shared container?

A full FCL container is yours alone: it’s loaded at your home or warehouse, closed with a seal bearing a registered number, and isn’t opened again except for customs inspection or when it reaches you. It’s the best option for a whole home or large quantities of goods, and it’s quicker because it doesn’t wait for anyone else’s shipment.

Shared LCL sea freight for smaller shipments

A shared LCL container, on the other hand, carries shipments from several customers, and you pay only for your shipment’s volume in cubic metres. It suits smaller loads, but it takes longer, because shipments have to be consolidated at the port of loading and unpacked at the port of arrival. We pack and secure your shipment inside it and mark it with your name and number so it doesn’t get mixed up with anyone else’s.

	Full FCL container	Shared LCL container
Suitable volume	Usually 15 cubic metres or more	Under 15 cubic metres
Price	Fixed price for the container	Per cubic metre
Time	Faster	Several days longer for consolidation and unpacking
Security	Sealed just for you	Packed and secured alongside other shipments

Saudi ports: which one suits your shipment?

Port	Location	Best for
Jeddah Islamic Port	Red Sea, western Saudi Arabia	Europe, Africa, Egypt, Sudan and Jordan, and shipments from Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah
King Abdulaziz Port (Dammam)	Arabian Gulf, eastern Saudi Arabia	Asia, India and the Gulf, and shipments from Riyadh and the Eastern Province, with a rail link to Riyadh Dry Port
Jubail ports	Arabian Gulf, Eastern Province	Industrial goods and equipment
Yanbu ports	Red Sea	Industrial goods, and the Madinah region
Jazan Port	Southern Red Sea	Southern Saudi Arabia
King Abdullah Port (Rabigh)	Red Sea, north of Jeddah	Containers for the Western Region

The port you choose changes the time and the cost. Shipping from Riyadh to Europe, for instance, may work out cheaper through Dammam on some occasions and through Jeddah on others, depending on the shipping line and the sailing date. We compare both options for you before booking.

Approximate sea freight times from the Kingdom

Destination	Usual Saudi port	Approx. time at sea
Egypt	Jeddah	A few days
Sudan	Jeddah	One to two days at sea
Jordan (Aqaba)	Jeddah	A few days
Turkey	Jeddah	One to two weeks
Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco	Jeddah	Two to three weeks
Europe and the UK	Jeddah	Three to four weeks
India and Pakistan	Dammam	One to two weeks
China and East Asia	Dammam or Jeddah	Three to four weeks
The United States and Canada	Jeddah	Four to six weeks

These are approximate times at sea only, and they vary with the shipping line and the number of ports the vessel calls at. Loading and clearance at both ends come on top, and when you book we give you the sailing date and the expected arrival date.

Shipping cars by sea

There are two ways to ship a car. The first is on a RoRo vessel: the car is driven onto the ship and secured on one of its decks, then driven off at the port of arrival. It’s the cheaper option and suits most cars. The second is inside a closed container: the car is secured with straps and chocks, and belongings or furniture can travel with it in the same container. That’s the better choice for valuable and classic cars.

Either way, we need the car’s registration form, the export certificate, and your passport and ID, and before booking we check the rules of the country it’s going to, as some countries set an age limit for cars or require particular specifications.

Packing furniture for sea freight

A sea voyage is longer and more humid than any road journey, and the container may sit in the sun at the port for days. So we pack differently:

Wood and upholstery in moisture-proof film, then blankets.
Moisture-absorbing sachets inside the cartons and the container.
Glass and mirrors in wooden crates.
Appliances upright, in their original boxes or double-wall cartons.
Every carton numbered, with its contents written on the packing list.
The load secured inside the container with straps and bracing.

Customs clearance and documents

Clearance is part of sea freight, not a separate service. When exporting from the Kingdom, we file the customs declaration through the FASAH platform and prepare the packing list; when importing into the Kingdom, the declaration is filed before the vessel arrives, and some products need conformity certificates through the SABER platform. The usual documents are:

The ocean bill of lading.
The commercial invoice and the packing list.
A certificate of origin for goods.
A copy of your passport and ID or iqama.
The car’s registration form and export certificate, for cars.
Conformity certificates for products that need them.

Used furniture returning to the Kingdom is exempt from duties under certain conditions, and you’ll find the details in our customs guide.

From the port to your door

A shipment doesn’t end at the quayside. After clearance, the container is hauled by truck to your home or warehouse, unloaded, and returned to the shipping line within the free time it allows. If unloading runs past that free time, demurrage is charged, so we arrange the delivery date before the vessel arrives.

Customs clearance and container release at the port

What determines the price of sea freight?

The type and size of container, or your shipment’s volume in cubic metres if it’s shared.
The port of loading and the port of arrival, and the distance between them.
The shipping line and the shipping season.
Transport from your home to the port, and from the port to the door at the destination.
Packing, dismantling and reassembly.
Clearance and charges in the destination country.
Insurance, if you choose it.

We don’t set a fixed price for international sea freight, because it changes with the shipping lines and the seasons. Send us the type and volume of your shipment, your city and the country you’re shipping to, and we’ll reply with the price, what it covers and the date of the next vessel. To understand how it’s worked out, see how international shipping costs are calculated.

Sea, air or land?

Method	Best for	Time	Cost
Sea	Furniture, cars and large shipments of goods	Days to weeks	The most economical for large volumes
Air	Urgent parcels and documents	A few days	The highest
Land	The Gulf states, Jordan and Iraq	Days	Moderate, and door to door

For neighbouring countries, land is usually quicker and cheaper than sea, while for Europe, Africa and the Americas, sea is the way to go. For a detailed comparison, see our shipping methods comparison, or air freight for urgent shipments.

Storing furniture before or after shipping

Sometimes you have to clear your home a few days before the vessel sails, or the container arrives before you’ve got the keys to your new home. Either way, we store your furniture packed and numbered in a closed warehouse, then load it into the container on the day or deliver it to you when you’re ready.

Insuring your sea shipment

We recommend insuring valuable furniture, cars and high-value goods for a small percentage of their declared value, as a sea voyage is long and involves more than one round of handling. You’ll find the details on our shipment insurance page.

What cannot be shipped by sea

Flammable materials, gas cylinders and fuel.
Weapons and ammunition.
Narcotics and restricted medicines without permission.
Hazardous chemicals without classification and permission.
Anything banned under the destination country’s rules.

The full list is on our prohibited items page.

Common sea freight mistakes

Choosing a shared container for a whole home, so it takes longer and costs more.
An incomplete or inaccurate packing list.
Light packing that can’t cope with the humidity at sea.
Not asking about charges in the destination country.
Collecting the container late, after the free time has run out.
Shipping a car without checking the destination country’s rules.

Steps to ship by sea with us

You send us the type and volume of your shipment or photos of it, your city and the country you’re shipping to.
We choose the container, the port and the shipping line, and send you the price and what it covers.
We book space on the vessel and prepare the documents.
We pack and load the container at your home or warehouse, and seal it.
We take it to the port and clear it, then send you the container number and the bill of lading.
We follow the voyage through to arrival, clearance and delivery.

Start with a quote request, or find out more about our sea freight service.

Frequently asked questions about sea freight in Saudi Arabia

What is the best sea freight company in Saudi Arabia?

The best is the one that gives you a clear price with what it covers, a real booking on a vessel, packing that suits the sea, clearance at both ends, and follow-up until delivery.