The dhow, the sea-going ship of the Arabian traders, is believed to be of Indian design. It was introduced for use on the coastal trading route between India and Europe through the Red Sea by the people of the Arabian peninsula several centuries BC and dominated Indian Ocean trade for one millennium.
During the Middle Ages Arab dhows and Chinese junks shared the sea trade in the Indian Ocean. Dhows were much more manoeuvrable than the square-rigged junks and the Spanish and Portuguese galeons of the 16th century because they could also make course close to the wind.
Dhows are still used in Islamic countries of Asia and Africa that border the Indian Ocean.