By Marek Grzybowski

Since Vessel Value published its 2024 World Fleet Ranking, much has changed in supply chains and fleet modernization. There has been little change at the top of the rankings. China continues to outpace Japan. China’s shipowners have secured the country’s leading position with a fleet worth an impressive $255 billion, ahead of Japan, whose fleet reached almost $231.4 billion. The report highlights significant transformations in asset values ​​and dynamic changes in the ownership market in 2024.

China maintains its leading position in terms of the number of ships. It took the lead in terms of fleet value, overtaking Japan and reaching a value of $255,236 million. “This is due to the fact that China has bulk carrier and container fleets worth $68.4 billion and $63.5 billion, respectively,” lists Rebecca Galanopoulos of Vessel Value on her blog, noting that “the value of the fleets in both markets has been growing over the past year.”

Galanopoulos explains that this is “due to the improved market fundamentals that have emerged in the wake of the Red Sea crisis, which has increased demand for ton-miles for most sectors.” To avoid terrorist attacks, ships are having to extend their routes between Asian and European ports. Sailing around the Cape of Good Hope has become the norm. This has seen the value of 20-year-old 180,000 dwt Capesizes, for example, increase by around 26.98% over the past year, from $13.86 million to $17.6 million.

– However, around 20% of the Capesize merchant fleet (130,000-219,999 dwt) belongs to shipowners based in Greece. 18% of this type belongs to owners based in Japan. Chinese shipowners account for 18% of the Capesize merchant fleet. Bermuda flags 7% of the fleet, while 6% of Capesize vessels are owned by owners based in South Korea, Banchero Costa lists.

The value of 20-year-old Handy container ships with a capacity of 1,750 TEU also increased by an unprecedented 171.86% over the past year, from USD 5.97 million to USD 16.23 million. – China also has the largest number of tankers. In January 20205, it had a fleet of 1,764 liquid cargo vessels worth USD 47.9 billion, Galanopoulos says.

According to Bancero Costa data, prices of new tankers and on the secondary market increased significantly in the second half of 2024 and remained the same in January 2025. This is the result of an increase in demand for tankers in shadow fleets and the extension of oil and product transport routes.

Japan’s strength in bulk carriers, Greece’s in tankers
Japan fell to second place this year. This happened despite the fact that the value of the fleet increased from $206.3 billion in 2024 to $231.3 billion in early 2025 since the last ranking, i.e. about 12% year-on-year. In recent years, shipowners have focused on increasing the bulk carrier fleet.

Japan’s bulk carrier fleets added almost 60 ships during the year. The increase in ship values ​​last year contributed to the increase in the value of this sector in Japan. Bulk carrier values ​​remained close to 15-year highs last year. With older, 20-year-old Capesize ships reaching a peak of $20.32 million in October 2024, Galanopoulos notes.

Japan also has the largest fleets in terms of both value and volume in the LNG carrier sector (worth $40.9 billion) and LPG carriers ($15.1 billion), reefer carriers ($1.3 billion) and car carriers ($24.8 billion). The LPG carrier fleet is divided into two size groups – small vessels with a capacity of 1,000 to 12,999 CBM and large, fully refrigerated vessels of 70,000 CBM and above.

– The vast majority of LPG tankers, as many as 928 units, are small vessels with a capacity of less than 13,000 CBM. VLGC tankers with a capacity of 70,000+ CBM are 427 units, which is about 26% of the fleet, but at the same time provides cargo space of 73% of the total capacity – calculates Banchero Costa. About 19% of the fleet of LPG ships is owned by operators from Japan, and 7% of the fleet of LPG tankers belong to shipowners from the People’s Republic of China. Greek shipowners have 6% of the fleet, and Singaporean owners 5%. Another 5% of the fleet of LPG tankers is at the disposal of shipowners from Indonesia.

Greece once again maintained third place, both in terms of the overall value and the number of ships in the fleet operating on the market. While China has more tankers, the value of Greece’s tanker fleet is significantly higher at $71.3 billion, surpassing China’s by $23.3 billion, Vessel Value estimates. Greece also has the second-largest LNG fleet, with 143 ships and a fleet value of $32.4 billion. The value of that fleet is up by just over $1 billion from last year, a result of high demand for tankers and LNG shipments.

Americans strong with cruise ships
The United States maintained fourth place with a fleet value of $116.4 billion. Over the year, the value increased by over $16.5 billion compared to the last Vessel Value report. The value of the fleet of American shipowners is determined by the strong cruise industry. The fleets of cruise ship operators are the strongest asset with $58.6 billion. The maritime position of the United States fleet is determined by Carnival and Royal Caribbean. Since the last report, the value of the cruise fleet in the hands of American shipowners has increased by almost $10 billion. The United States also has a strong position in the ro-ro market, with a fleet worth $2.6 billion. In terms of the number of ships, with a fleet of 40 ro-ro, the United States is behind Japan and Turkey, which have 88 and 50 ships, respectively.

The situation may change in the near future among the top five countries ordering ro-ro ships in the years 2020-2024, Japan came first with contracts for 10 ships. Next are Grimaldi from Italy (8 ships) and France (6 units).

Singapore has maintained its fifth place in the ranking, with a fleet value of around USD 107.2 billion. This means an increase in the value of the fleets of shipowners from this country by over USD 21 billion compared to last year. Shipowners from Singapore are in fourth place in terms of the number of ships they own. The highest value is held by Singapore’s LPG and OSV fleets. They are the second largest fleet group in the world in terms of value. Their Vessel Value is estimated at USD 14 billion and USD 4.4 billion each, respectively. The value of this sector has been created by the market. As a result of the growing demand for gas transport services, the value of fleets has increased by around 50.5% compared to the last report – explains Galanopoulos.

South Korea has maintained its position as the sixth maritime country, and its fleet is currently worth USD 69.6 billion. This means an increase of “only” almost USD 2 billion compared to last year. Korean shipowners have fewer ships than the 10th fleet in the ranking, but they have new and high-value ships. In terms of the number of operators, the Republic of Korea is outpaced by the United Arab Emirates. South Korea’s position was determined by investments in the maritime transport sector of LNG tankers. The value of the Korean fleet of tankers for transporting liquefied gas ensured that it maintained its fourth position with a valuation of USD 17.2 billion.

South Korea maintained its key role as a global car exporter. Continuing the activities of previous years, significant investments were made in the new shipbuilding sector. Glovis placed an order for six LCTC vessels, which are to be built at Guangzhou CSSC and delivered by 2028. Their contract value is USD 125 million each, which will again increase the value of the Republic of Korea’s ro-ro fleet.

Albion focuses on cruises, Norway on LNG and ro-ro
The UK has moved up one position in the fleet value ranking for another year, taking seventh place in 2025. This is despite the fact that Albion is not in the top ten in terms of the number of ships. In this case, a similar mechanism was at work as in the case of the United States. Just over 25% of the value of the UK fleet is provided by cruise ship owners. The cruise industry is the most valuable sector in the UK fleet.

The next position is occupied by the maritime container transport sector, with a share of around 17% of the value of the UK fleet. Over the year, the value of this part of the UK fleet increased by around 2% compared to the previous year. Due to continued strong growth in the tanker sector, the value of the UK tanker fleet has increased by around 32% since our last Vessel Value report, from $7.2bn in January 2024 to $9.5bn in January 2025. As a result of recent investment in the LPG sector, the value of the UK tanker fleet has remained stable at around $5.3bn.

Norway now ranks eighth with a total fleet value of $68.5bn, almost $10bn more than in the previous report. The UK has moved one place up from its neighbour. The increase in the value of the Norwegian fleet has been driven by investment in the maritime transport of liquefied gas, which is also carried out by one Norwegian operator from the United States to Poland. The value of the Norwegian LNG fleet is around 20% of the country’s total fleet value, at $13.6bn. The LPG fleet accounts for around 4.5% and is worth $3.1bn. Oil tankers also make up a significant percentage of the Norwegian fleet. This share is estimated at around 16%, with a total value of $10.9 billion. Norway is also the second largest owner of car transporters, which account for around 15.8% of the total fleet value ($10.8 billion).

Switzerland once again made it into the top ten this year with a fleet value of USD 68 billion. This is largely information about MSC’s activity and results from the investment activity of this shipowner. In 2024, MSC continued its policy of dynamic development of the container fleet by investing in new and market-acquired units. During the year, MSC acquired 63 used ships from the secondary market and signed contracts for 64 new container ships. All planned construction will be carried out in Chinese shipyards and launched on the market between 2026 and 2029.

Germany has recorded a decline in the global rankings for the second year in a row. It moved from ninth to tenth place in the Vessel Value table. Traditionally, a significant part of the German fleet is the container fleet. German shipowners rank second in terms of the number of such ships. However, in terms of value, the German container fleet ranks fifth with a container fleet value estimated at USD 27.7 billion. This is a significant increase compared to the last report. In January 2024, the German container fleet was valued at $17.8 billion.

As you can see from this overview, shipowners from China, Japan and Greece still call the shots and decide what happens in the maritime transport market. Shipowners from Europe are holding on tight, investing in new and increasingly modern ships.