Shipping – One trillion dollars afloat at sea

Close to the astronomical amount of $ 1 trillion is the value of the merchant fleet of the ten largest shipping nations in the world, with the fleet of the first three being worth more than $ 500 billion according to recent research by VesselsValue.

Shipping agents make it clear that the value of ships is a very variable size as it varies constantly depending on the course of the shipping markets, supply and demand, noting that the most “tested” approach to shipping power is the carrying capacity of each fleet, a sector in which the Greek ship ownership stands out, occupying the first place in the world with 17%, followed by China with 11.5%.

The Chinese fleet has the upper hand as it is estimated at $ 191 billion today. China, which controls the largest fleet of containerships, has benefited from a surge in demand for containerships, rising to first place from second where it was last year.

The Chinese also have significant strength in dry bulk carriers, ranking second (total value $ 53.2 billion), as well as in tankers ($ 27.17 billion), while they are in third place in terms of liquefied cargo ships – LNG Carriers ($ 10.46 billion). Japan is within a breath, with the value of its merchant fleet reaching $ 187.6 billion. Japanese shipowners rank first in bulkers ($ 62.9 billion), third in tankers ($ 24.04 billion) and second place in container vessels ($ 49 billion) and LNG Carriers ($ 18.13 billion).

Greece completes the top three, with the value of its merchant fleet amounting to $ 145.8 billion, recording a leap increase compared to last year. At the forefront of the Greek fleet are tankers, valued at $ 41.55 billion, and LNG Carriers, valued at $ 19.11 billion, categories where Greek shipowners hold first place and are undisputed leaders. They are just as strong on bulk carriers ($ 52.7 billion) in third place, while they are the fifth largest container carrier (with a fleet value of $ 27.7 billion).

In fourth place are US shipowners, with their fleet showing a total value of $ 96.37 billion. American shipowners are first on cruise ships, while in all other categories of ships they are in the bottom five. However, they invest proportionately more in tankers ($ 9.49 billion) and containerships ($ 8.5 billion) and then in bulk carriers ($ 6.38 billion).

The top five is completed by Singapore shipowners, with a fleet worth $ 78.4 billion. behind Japan, which is the first with a LPG Carriers fleet value of $ 7.4 billion.

The other positions

In sixth place are German shipowners, with a fleet value of $ 76.79 billion. They stand out in the cruise and container ship industry, ranking third in both categories with $ 12.8 billion and $ 44.9 billion, respectively. respectively.

The seventh place in the overall ranking is occupied by South Korea with a fleet value of $ 58.2 billion. This country stands out with the fifth place in bulkers ($ 13.18 billion), the fifth place in tankers ($ 9.7 billion) and fourth place in LNG Carriers ($ 9.08 billion). In eighth place is the United Kingdom, whose shipowners control a fleet of $ 56.5 billion. Taiwan with a fleet value of $ 47.8 billion Taiwanese shipowners stand out for their presence on container vessels, where their fleet ranks third in the world with $ 32 billion, and their fleet of bulkers with a value of $ 12.4 billion is in sixth place.

The top ten is completed by Norway, which has a fleet of $ 43.1 billion. It stands out with its fleet of LNG Carriers, whose value is $ 6.4 billion and is in fifth place, as well as with its fleet of LPG Carriers ($ 2.95 billion) which is also in fifth place in the relevant ranking.