Merchant fleet

by · June 7, 2021


Map 1. Building, ownership, registration and recycling of ships, 2021
(Main specialization)

Sources: UNCTADstat -—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—-; Clarksons Research.

Note: Top three countries in each segment are shown in the default selection. Building and recycling are estimated deliveries and demolitions during 2021. Registration and ownership figures refer to the beginning of the year 2022.

World fleet development and composition

In January 2022, the world fleet reached a carrying capacity of 2.2 billion dwt, 63 million dwt more than the previous year. Over recent years, tonnage has increased considerably in all segments except general cargo carriers. Bulk carriers recorded an especially rapid increase. Between 2012 and 2022, their share in total carrying capacity rose from 41 to 43 per cent, whereas the share of oil tankers shrank from 30 to 29 per cent, and the share of general cargo from 5 to 4 per cent.

Shipbuilding and recycling

In 2021, global shipbuilding was concentrated in China, the Republic of Korea and Japan. These three economies accounted for 94 per cent of shipbuilding in terms of gross tonnage. In ship recycling, Bangladesh and Pakistan jointly accounted for 72 per cent and India for an additional 18 per cent.

Figure 1. World fleet by principal vessel type
(Millions of dead-weight tons)

Source: UNCTADstat -—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—-; Clarksons Research.

Note: Commercial ships of 100 gt and above. Beginning-of-year figures.

Fleet ownership

Figure 2. Fleet market by region of beneficial ownership, 2022
(Millions of dead-weight tons)

Sources: UNCTADstat -—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—-; Clarksons Research.

Note: Commercial ships of 1000 gt and above; beginning-of-year figures.

As of January 2022, the top five ship-owning economies combined accounted for 53 per cent of world fleet tonnage. Greece held a market share of 18 per cent, followed by China (13 per cent), Japan (11 per cent), Singapore (6 per cent), and Hong Kong SAR (5 per cent). Half of the world’s tonnage was owned by Asian companies. Owners from Europe accounted for 39 per cent and owners from Northern America for 6 per cent. Companies from Africa and from Latin America and the Caribbean had a share of just over one per cent each; Oceania just below one.

Major flags of registration

Many commercial ships are registered under a flag that does not match the nationality of the vessel owner. For example, at the beginning of 2022, 49 per cent of all ships owned by Japanese entities were registered in Panama; of the ships owned by Greek entities, 25 per cent were registered in Liberia and another 23 per cent in the Marshall Islands.

Panama (350 million dwt), Liberia (335 million dwt) and the Marshall Islands (290 million dwt) represented the leading flags of registration. While the size of the register of Panama has remained almost unchanged over the last decade, the Marshall Islands and Liberia have caught up, with Liberia skyrocketing since 2018.

Figure 3. Vessels capacity in top five registries
(Millions of dead-weight tons)

Sources: UNCTADstat -—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—-; Clarksons Research.

Note: Commercial ships of 100 gt and above. Beginning-of-year figures. Ranked by the values as of 1 January 2022.

Concepts and definitions

The unit dead-weight tons (dwt) is used to indicate the cargo carrying capacity of a ship, while gross tons (gt) reflect its size. The latter is relevant to measure shipbuilding and recycling activity, while the former is used to capture the capacity to transport cargo.

The presented statistics on fleet registration (the flag of a ship), shipbuilding and recycling cover all commercial ships of 100 gt and more. The market shares for ownership only cover larger ships of 1000 gt and above, as the true ownership is not always known for smaller vessels.

Summary tables

Table 1. Merchant fleet registration by group of economies

Sources: UNCTADstat -—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—-; Clarksons Research.

Note: Commercial ships of 100 gt and above. Figures refer to the beginning of the year.

    Table 2. Fleet ownership and registration, main economies, 1 January 2022
    Vessels
    (Number of vessels)

    Sources: UNCTADstat -—
    – ‒
    - –
    —-    -—
    – ‒
    - –
    —-    -—
    – ‒
    - –
    —-    -—
    – ‒
    - –
    —-    ; Clarksons Research.

    Note: Commercial ships of 1000 gt and above.

      Tonnage
      (Thousands of dead-weight tons)

      Sources: UNCTADstat -—
      – ‒
      - –
      —-      -—
      – ‒
      - –
      —-      -—
      – ‒
      - –
      —-      -—
      – ‒
      - –
      —-      ; Clarksons Research.

      Note: Commercial ships of 1000 gt and above.

        References

          Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
          Donec tincidunt vel mauris a dignissim. Curabitur sodales nunc id vestibulum tempor. Nunc tortor orci, sodales nec eros eget.
          Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
          Donec tincidunt vel mauris a dignissim. Curabitur sodales nunc id vestibulum tempor. Nunc tortor orci, sodales nec eros eget.
          Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
          Donec tincidunt vel mauris a dignissim. Curabitur sodales nunc id vestibulum tempor. Nunc tortor orci, sodales nec eros eget.
          Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
          Donec tincidunt vel mauris a dignissim. Curabitur sodales nunc id vestibulum tempor. Nunc tortor orci, sodales nec eros eget.
          Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
          Donec tincidunt vel mauris a dignissim. Curabitur sodales nunc id vestibulum tempor. Nunc tortor orci, sodales nec eros eget.