Move what matters, with the precision global trade demands.
Al Madina Shipping moves vehicles, containers, and cleared paperwork from Houston to West Africa, the Gulf, the Mediterranean, and the Caribbean — on a portal that tells you the truth in real time.
Licensed and bonded for what shippers actually require
Bonded yard.
Licensed brokers.
One portal.
Houston-based — operating now, not someday.
One desk. Every leg of the move.
Forwarder, broker, warehouse, and tracking platform under one roof. No handoffs between five vendors. No phone-tag. No status-by-screenshot.
Container & break-bulk freight
FCL, LCL, and roll-on/roll-off out of Houston into West Africa, the Gulf, and the Caribbean — booked on every major carrier.
Cars, trucks, heavy equipment
VIN-verified, CBP-pre-cleared, photographed at every checkpoint. From single-vehicle shipments to dealer fleets.
Brokerage & ISF filing
Licensed customs brokers on staff. ISF, AES, 7501, 3461 — filed correctly the first time, with a paper trail you can audit.
Bonded storage & consolidation
On-port and near-port facilities for staging, palletizing, and load consolidation — with continuous CCTV and chain-of-custody logs.
Cleared lanes. Not promises.
Each arc is a route we run weekly — not a brochure highlight. Our coordinators know the shipping line schedules, the customs officers by name, and the inland trucking partners on both ends.
- Houston ↔ Lagos / Cotonou / TemaRoRo + container, weekly
- Houston ↔ Jeddah / Jebel AliContainer, biweekly
- Houston ↔ Beirut / MersinContainer, monthly
- Houston ↔ Genoa / La SpeziaContainer, biweekly
- Houston ↔ Kingston / Santo DomingoContainer + RoRo, weekly
A move you can read like a manifest.
Every stage is timestamped, photographed, and visible in your portal. You don't chase status — it shows up in your dashboard.
- 01
Pickup booked
Coordinator confirms vehicle / cargo location, schedules pickup window, issues BOL draft for review.
- 02
Bonded yard intake
Cargo arrives at our Houston yard. Photographed at every face, weighed, scanned, and tagged in your customer portal.
- 03
Customs cleared
ISF filed within 24h. CBP entry filed and released. You watch the status flip in real time — no calls required.
- 04
Loaded on vessel
Container number, seal number, and vessel ETA published the moment they exist. No "we'll get back to you."
- 05
Delivered, signed, paid
Signed delivery order, dock receipt, and final invoice in your portal. Paid in 3 clicks.
The lines that actually move global trade.
We book on whichever line gets your cargo on the right vessel at the right rate — not a single-carrier shop. Long-standing relationships with every major ocean line out of the US Gulf and East Coast.
Dealer-fleet RoRo, single-vehicle, classic-car bonded transport.
Heavy machinery, agricultural, oilfield. Project-cargo permitting handled.
Industrial inputs, finished goods, FCL/LCL on standing weekly lanes.
The questions every shipper asks before signing.
How much will it cost to ship my car?+
Cost depends on the vehicle size, origin, and destination port. Use the quote form below and a coordinator will price your shipment against the right carrier for that lane — usually same business day.
How long does international shipping take?+
Transit time depends on the port of departure and the port of arrival. East Coast to Europe is typically about two weeks; West Coast to Europe runs four to five. Vessel sailings are planned in advance, so we can give you a firm ETD and approximate ETA for the next sailing on your lane.
What documents are required to export a vehicle?+
U.S. Customs requires the original title with the shipper's name printed or reassigned on it. If a lien is held on the vehicle, you'll also need a letter on the lien holder's letterhead — signed, dated, with year/make/model/VIN — expressly authorizing the export. After clearance, we return every document we received from you.
Do I need marine insurance for overseas shipments?+
Marine insurance is optional but always recommended. It covers loss or damage during ocean transit. We arrange All-Risk coverage on written request — additional charges apply, and the premium is low relative to cargo value.
Container or Roll-on/Roll-off — which should I choose?+
RoRo is the most popular for standard cars: the vehicle is driven on at origin and off at destination. Container is the right call when the cargo is high value (collector, classic, or new), inoperable (can't be driven on), or when the lane doesn't offer RoRo service. Containers also reduce handling and theft risk in transit.
Do you handle US customs clearance?+
Yes. We handle customs documentation on both the US and UAE sides so your shipment isn't held up at either port. ISF, export documentation, and entry filings are taken care of in-house.
Can I ship a vehicle from a US auto auction?+
Yes. We have access to all major US auctions — Copart, IAAI, Manheim, Adesa — and provide inland towing from the auction yard to our consolidation point at minimum cost. We then book the right shipping mode (RoRo or container) for the destination.
What's the best way to save money on overseas shipping?+
Full container loads (FCL) are usually the cheapest per-unit option when you have the volume — they minimize handling, storage, and per-piece loading fees. For one or two vehicles, RoRo is typically cheaper than container. The right answer depends on your cargo and lane; a coordinator will price both for you.
Stop chasing your forwarder.
Start watching cargo move.
Account opens in under a day. First container can sail within the week.