World Merchant Fleet 

2005 

World 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

Maritime Administration 
World Merchant Fleet 

2001-2005

July 2006 

Office of Data and Economic Analysis 

www.marad.dot.gov/marad_statistics 
Contents 

iii

Preface ........................................................................... iv 

Notes and Sources .................................................................. v 

Saummary Tables .................................................................... 1 

Tables: 

(Notes) 

 N-1: U.S. Fleets, 2005 .......................................................... vi 

 N-2: U.S. Fleet Orders, 2005 .................................................... vi 

(Summary) 

 S-1: World Merchant Fleet by Type, 2001-2005 ..................................... 1 

 S-2: World Merchant Fleet and Orders by Vessel Type, 2005 ........................ 1 

 S-3: World Merchant Fleet Age Profile, by Vessel Type, 2005 ...................... 2 

 S-4: World Merchant Fleet by Country of Owner and Vessel Type, 2005 .............. 3 

 S-5: World Merchant Fleet by Country of Build and Vessel Type, 2005 .............. 5 

 S-6: World Merchant Fleet by Flag and Vessel Type, 2005 .......................... 7 
Preface 

iv

Preface

The following report contains data on the World Merchant Fleet of 10,000 DWT or 

greater. The data are presented in terms of vessels and deadweight (DWT) for the 

following vessel types: tankers, container, dry bulk, roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro), gas 

carriers, combination carriers, and general cargo (See Notes for definitions). For 

containerships, capacity is also expressed in terms of twenty-foot equivalent units 

(TEU). 

Comments and recommendations as to content and format of the report can be made at 

data.marad@marad.dot.gov. In addition, to learn more about the Maritime 

Administration or the maritime industry, visit the agency’s website at 

www.marad.dot.gov. 
Notes and Sources 

v 

Vessel Types 

The vessel categories used for this report include the following types: 

 Tankers: Petoleum Tankers, Chemical Carriers. 

 

 Container: Fully Cellular Containerships, Refrigerated Container Carriers. 

 Dry Bulk: Bulk Vessls, Bulk Containerships, Cement Carriers, Wood Chip Carriers, 

 Lakers. 

 Ro-Ro: Ro-Ro Vessels, Ro-Ro/Containerships, Car Carriers. 

 Gas Carriers: LNG Carriers, LNG/LPG Carriers, LPG Carriers. 

 Combination Carriers: Ore/Bulk/Oil Carriers, Bulk/Oil Carriers.

 General Cargo: General Cargo Carriers, Partial Containerships, 

 Refrigerated Ships, Barge Carriers, Barge Carriers, Livestock Carriers. 

 

Capacities

Vessel capacities are expressed in deadweight (DWT) which is the total weight (metric 

tons) of cargo, fuel, fresh water, stores and crew which a ship can carry when 

immersed to its load line. 

For containerships, capacities are also expressed in twenty-foot equivalent units 

(TEU). A TEU is a nominal unit of measure equivalent to a 20’x8’x8’ shipping 

container. 

U.S. Fleets

The U.S. Fleet numbers in this report include both privately-owned and governmentowned commercial vessels. Jones Act Vessels are those that are owned by U.S. 

citizens, registered under U.S. laws and built or reconstructed (Wrecked Vessels Act) 

in U.S. shipyards. 

Sources

Clarkson Research Studies, Vessel Registers, London: Clarkson Shipbrokers, 

(www.clarksonresearch.com). 

Photo Credits

Photographs shown on the cover viewed clockwise beginning from the top left and ending 

in the bottom left, are courtesy of Maersk (© Maersk Inc.), Port of Tacoma, Maersk (© 

Maersk Inc.) and Port of Tacoma. 
Notes and Sources 

vi 

U.S. Fleets, 2005 

U.S.-Flag U.S. Owned U.S. Built Jones Act 

Vessel Type Priv. Gov. Priv. Gov. Priv. Gov. Priv. Gov.

 

Number of Vessels 

Tanker 60 35 275 36 66 36 56 35

 Double Hull 31 5 193 5 31 5 27 5

Container 74 0 86 0 29 0 29 0

Dry Bulk 62 0 201 0 59 0 51 0

 Laker 48 0 48 0 54 0 48 0

Ro-Ro 41 15 58 15 15 15 15 15

 Car Carrier 16 0 20 0 1 0 1 0

Gas Carrier 0 0 18 0 13 0 0 0

Combination 0 0 12 0 0 0 0 0

General Cargo 8 0 38 0 2 0 2 0

All Types 245 50 688 51 184 51 153 50

U.S. Fleet Orders, 2005 

U.S.-Flag U.S. Owned U.S. Built Jones Act 

Mil. Mil. Mil. Mil. 

Vessel Type No. Dwt/TEU No. DWT/TEU No. DWT/TEU No. DWT/TEU

 

Tanker 12 0.8 48 2.7 12 0.8 12 0.8

 Double Hull 12 0.8 48 2.7 12 0.8 12 0.8

Container 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0

 Container 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0

Dry Bulk 0 0 3 0.1 0 0 0 0

 Laker 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Ro-Ro 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

 Car Carrier 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Gas Carrier 0 0 6 0.6 0 0 0 0

Combination 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

General Cargo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

All Types 13 0.8 58 3.5 13 0.8 13 0.8

Table N-2 

Table N-1 
Summary 

1 

World Merchant Fleet by Type, 2001-2005 

 

 % Change 

Vessel Type 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2001-2005

Number of Vessels 

Tanker 3,430 3,474 3,569 3,772 4,024 17.3

 Double Hull 1,400 1,600 1,911 2,236 2,582 84.4

Container 2,176 2,307 2,441 2,594 2,837 30.4

Dry Bulk 5,587 5,662 5,733 5,945 6,225 11.4

 Laker 112 105 101 98 98 -12.5

Ro-Ro 589 608 625 658 703 19.4

 Car Carrier 358 367 378 402 435 21.5

Gas Carrier 367 369 391 415 433 18.0

Combination 136 120 116 111 102 -25.0

General Cargo 1,617 1,534 1,453 1,457 1,495 -7.5

 

All Types 13,902 14,074 14,328 14,952 15,819 13.8

Million DWT/TEU 

Tanker 290.8 295.4 305.3 323.8 346.4 19.1

 Double Hull 126.9 150.6 181.1 208.6 238.3 87.8

Container 73.1 79.9 86.5 94.1 106.2 45.3

 Container 5.1 5.7 6.2 6.8 7.7 51.0

Dry Bulk 289.8 298.0 306.4 325.6 348.1 20.1

 Laker 3.5 3.4 3.3 3.2 3.2 -8.6

Ro-Ro 10.5 10.8 11.1 11.7 12.4 18.1

 Car Carrier 5.8 5.9 6.1 6.6 7.2 24.1

Gas Carrier 16.8 17.2 18.7 20.4 21.7 29.2

Combination 13.6 12.0 11.7 10.5 9.7 -28.7

General Cargo 26.2 24.8 23.5 23.6 24.2 -7.6

 

All Types 720.7 738.1 763.3 809.7 868.7 20.5

World Merchant Fleet and Orders by Vessel Type, 2005 

Existing Fleet Orders Orders, % of Fleet 

Vessel Type Number 

 Mil. 

 DWT/TEU Number

 Mil. 

 DWT/TEU Number 

 Mil. 

DWT/TEU

 

Tanker 4,024 346.4 1,112 85.2 27.6 24.6

 Double Hull 2,582 238.3 1,112 85.2 43.1 35.8

Container 2,837 106.2 1,115 52.4 39.3 49.3

Container 2,837 7.7 1,115 4.2 39.3 54.5

Dry Bulk 6,225 348.1 790 64.1 12.7 18.4

 Laker 98 3.2 0 0 0 0

Ro-Ro 703 12.4 166 2.9 23.6 23.4

 Car Carrier 435 7.2 133 2.3 30.6 31.9

Gas Carrier 433 21.7 206 13.6 47.6 62.7

Combination 102 9.7 0 0.0 0.0 0.0

General Cargo 1,495 24.2 114 1.6 7.6 6.6

 

All Types 15,819 868.7 3,503 219.8 22.1 25.3

Table S-1 

Table S-2 
Summary 

2 

World Merchant Fleet Age Profile by Vessel Type, 2005 

 

Before 1986 1986-1995 After 1995 

 Mil. Mil. Mil. 

Vessel Type No. DWT/TEU No. DWT/TEU No. DWT/TEU

 

Tanker 884 39.1 1,057 106.7 2,083 200.6

 Double Hull 63 2.5 447 35.9 2,072 199.8

Container 439 12.0 710 23.8 1,688 70.4

 Container 439 0.7 710 1.6 1,688 5.4

Dry Bulk 2,522 99.5 1,274 85.6 2,429 163.0

 Laker 98 3.2 0 0.0 0 0.0

Ro-Ro 292 5.2 141 2.2 270 5.0

 Car Carrier 157 2.3 96 1.5 182 3.3

Gas Carrier 153 7.0 97 4.3 183 10.4

Combination 45 3.5 45 4.9 12 1.3

General Cargo 937 15.3 267 4.0 291 4.7

 

All Types 5,272 181.7 3,591 231.5 6,956 455.5

Table S-3 
Summary 

3 

World Merchant Fleet by Country of Owner and Vessel Type, 2005 

(Top 10 Countries by DWT) 

All Vessel Types Number Mil. DWT Tanker Number Mil. DWT

 

Greece 2,426 158.5 Greece 733 70.6

Japan 2,059 135.0 Japan 394 41.3

China 1,738 82.6 United States 311 25.6

Germany 1,412 55.4 Singapore 226 23.1

United States 739 43.6 Norway 247 17.5

Singapore 559 37.4 Bermuda 76 17.4

United Kingdom 471 33.3 United Kingdom 154 16.5

Norway 637 33.1 China 199 16.3

South Korea 414 27.9 Saudi Arabia 62 11.1

Taiwan 475 27.8 India 107 8.7

 

Top 10 10,930 634.6 Top 10 2,509 248.0

All Countries 15,819 868.7 All Countries 4,024 346.4

 

Container Number Mil. DWT Dry Bulk Number Mil. DWT

 

Germany 978 34.7 Greece 1,326 76.6

Japan 209 9.0 Japan 1,041 75.2

China 198 8.1 China 979 51.6

Taiwan 202 7.3 South Korea 224 15.9

Denmark 117 7.1 Taiwan 209 14.3

Switzerland 153 6.5 United Kingdom 142 10.1

Greece 157 6.2 Germany 182 10.1

United Kingdom 91 3.8 United States 201 9.8

United States 86 3.4 Singapore 175 9.7

Singapore 99 2.8 Norway 175 7.8

 

Top 10 2,290 89.0 Top 10 4,654 281.1

All Countries 2,837 106.2 All Countries 6,225 348.1

Ro-Ro Number Mil. DWT Gas Carrier Number Mil. DWT

 

Japan 251 3.9 Japan 78 4.5

United States 73 1.9 Norway 72 3.1

Norway 71 1.5 United Kingdom 32 1.9

Italy 52 1.0 South Korea 21 1.5

Sweden 50 0.9 Malaysia 17 1.3

South Korea 29 0.5 United States 18 1.1

Greece 19 0.3 Greece 23 1.1

Denmark 22 0.3 Nigeria 12 0.9

United Kingdom 14 0.2 Singapore 20 0.8

Netherlands 15 0.2 Algeria 12 0.7

 

Top 10 596 10.7 Top 10 305 16.8

All Countries 703 12.4 All Countries 433 21.7

Table S-4 
Summary 

4 

World Merchant Fleet by Country of Owner and Vessel Type, 2005 

(Top 10 Countries by DWT) 

Combination Number Mil. DWT General Cargo Number Mil. DWT

 

Norway 27 2.6 China 342 6.0

Greece 20 1.4 Greece 148 2.3

Bermuda 8 1.4 Germany 105 2.0

Germany 6 1.1 Japan 86 1.2

United States 12 1.0 Netherlands 79 1.1

Argentina 3 0.5 United States 37 0.7

China 6 0.4 Thailand 36 0.6

Singapore 5 0.4 Iran 31 0.6

Taiwan 3 0.2 Singapore 32 0.6

Italy 2 0.1 Unknown 39 0.6

 

Top 10 92 9.1 Top 10 935 15.7

All Countries 102 9.7 All Countries 1,495 24.1

 

Table S-4 continued 
Summary 

5 

World Merchant Fleet by Country of Build and Vessel Type, 2005 

(Top 10 Countries by DWT) 

All Vessel Types Number Mil. DWT Tanker Number Mil. DWT

 

Japan 6,839 380.9 South Korea 1,216 145.8

South Korea 2,846 255.0 Japan 1,326 127.5

China 1,113 48.3 China 280 16.4

Germany 1,103 26.1 Croatia 198 9.9

Taiwan 308 21.6 United States 102 6.3

Denmark 258 15.8 Spain 107 6.2

Poland 481 14.0 Denmark 60 5.2

Croatia 321 13.4 Brazil 51 2.9

Spain 270 11.6 Italy 77 2.8

United States 235 11.0 Ukraine 63 2.6

 

 Top 10 13,774 797.7 Top 10 3,480 325.6

 All Countries 15,819 868.7 All Countries 4,024 346.4

 

Container Number Mil. DWT Dry Bulk Number Mil. DWT

 

South Korea 745 40.2 Japan 3,841 206.6

Japan 680 24.4 South Korea 643 56.6

Germany 601 16.2 China 509 24.7

Denmark 81 5.7 Taiwan 129 13.6

Poland 220 5.6 Brazil 105 5.5

Taiwan 147 5.1 Poland 102 3.8

China 158 4.0 United Kingdom 85 3.5

United States 29 0.8 Spain 72 3.3

France 20 0.7 Italy 36 3.2

Italy 18 0.5 Denmark 49 3.2

 

Top 10 2,699 103.5 Top 10 5,571 323.9

All Countries 2,837 106.2 All Countries 6,225 348.0

 

Ro-Ro Number Mil. DWT Gas Carrier Number Mil. DWT

 

Japan 368 5.9 Japan 159 8.5

South Korea 81 1.6 South Korea 85 5.2

United States 30 0.8 France 47 2.6

Italy 36 0.7 United States 13 0.9

Sweden 21 0.6 Norway 27 0.7

Poland 31 0.6 Finland 11 0.6

Germany 32 0.4 Germany 22 0.5

France 13 0.3 Italy 20 0.5

Croatia 18 0.2 Belgium 11 0.4

Denmark 10 0.2 Spain 7 0.4

 

Top 10 640 11.4 Top 10 402 20.6

All Countries 703 12.4 All Countries 433 21.7

 

Table S-5 
Summary 

6 

World Merchant Fleet by Country of Build and Vessel Type, 2005 

(Top 10 Countries by DWT) 

Combination Number Mil. DWT General Cargo Number Mil. DWT

 

South Korea 46 5.0 Japan 454 7.3

Denmark 9 0.7 Germany 268 4.1

Germany 9 0.7 China 148 2.9

Japan 11 0.6 United Kingdom 68 1.1

Taiwan 2 0.6 Poland 66 1.0

Sweden 7 0.5 Spain 58 0.9

Belgium 3 0.4 Netherlands 62 0.8

Spain 6 0.4 Croatia 46 0.8

Croatia 3 0.4 Denmark 43 0.7

Poland 3 0.3 Finland 28 0.6

 

Top 10 99 9.5 Top 10 1,241 20.2

All Countries 102 9.7 All Countries 1,495 24.1

 

Table S-5 continued 
Summary 

7 

World Merchant Fleet by Flag and Vessel Type, 2005 

(Top 10 Countries by DWT) 

All Vessel Types Number Mil. DWT Tanker Number Mil. DWT

 

Panama 3,415 203.4 Panama 592 57.1

Liberia 1,410 88.8 Liberia 520 48.5

Greece 555 51.9 Marshall Is. 323 31.1

Hong Kong 721 48.7 Greece 233 30.0

Bahamas 729 46.9 Singapore 274 25.4

Marshall Is. 644 46.0 Bahamas 215 25.2

Singapore 699 44.6 Malta 181 13.2

Malta 745 35.4 Hong Kong 81 11.2

Cyprus 696 30.5 Isle of Man 96 8.3

China 803 27.5 India 103 8.3 

 

Top 10 10,417 623.8 Top 10 2,618 258.3

All Countries 15,819 868.7 All Countries 4,024 346.4

 

Container Number Mil. DWT Dry Bulk Number Mil. DWT

 

Panama 541 22.1 Panama 1,703 110.7 

Liberia 415 16.7 Hong Kong 492 32.2 

Germany 248 10.9 Greece 268 19.4 

Danish Int'l 78 5.5 Malta 435 19.2 

Singapore 177 5.0 Cyprus 373 18.7 

United Kingdom 104 4.6 Liberia 313 18.5 

Antigua & B. 195 4.3 Bahamas 301 14.8 

Cyprus 139 3.9 China 371 14.5 

Marshall Is. 121 3.9 Singapore 174 11.3 

Hong Kong 81 3.6 South Korea 122 8.3 

 

Top 10 2,099 80.6 Top 10 4,552 267.6 

All Countries 2,837 106.2 All Countries 6,225 348.1 

 

Ro-Ro Number Mil. DWT Gas Carrier Number Mil. DWT

 

Panama 244 3.9 Panama 80 4.2

United States 56 1.4 Norwegian Int'l 69 2.6

Norwegian Int’l 48 1.0 Liberia 45 2.1

Sweden 43 1.0 Japan 29 1.9

Italy 52 1.0 Malaysia 17 1.3

Bahamas 30 0.6 Bahamas 20 1.2

Singapore 30 0.6 Bermuda 15 1.2

Liberia 37 0.6 Singapore 15 0.8

United Kingdom 20 0.3 Marshall Is. 10 0.7

Japan 15 0.2 Isle of Man 11 0.5

 

Top 10 575 10.5 Top 10 311 16.6

All Countries 703 12.4 All Countries 433 21.7

 

Table S-6 
Summary 

8 

World Merchant Fleet by Flag and Vessel Type, 2005 

(Top 10 Countries by DWT) 

Combination Number Mil. DWT General Cargo Number Mil. DWT

 

Panama 15 2.0 Panama 240 3.5

Norwegian Int'l 17 1.8 China 210 3.3

Liberia 18 1.5 St. Vincent & G. 79 1.5

Bahamas 18 1.4 Cyprus 85 1.5

Singapore 6 1.0 Malta 66 1.1

Marshall Is. 12 1.0 Hong Kong 52 1.1

Hong Kong 4 0.4 Bahamas 77 1.0

Malta 3 0.3 Liberia 62 1.0

Turkey 2 0.2 Marshall Is. 32 0.9

India 1 0.1 Netherlands 60 0.9

 

Top 10 96 9.5 Top 10 963 15.7 

All Countries 102 9.7 All Countries 1,495 24.1 

 

Table S-6 continued