Maritime industry means that industry in which Employees perform duties on board commercial, exploratory, service or other vessels moving on the high seas, inland waterways, Great Lakes, coastal zones, harbors and noncontiguous areas, or on offshore ports, platforms or other similar sites.
As maritime industry is getting closer and closer to our daily life, ships have played an more and more important part of it. Here are the top 5 shipowning nations.
1. Greece
No other country in the world is so inextricably linked to maritime transportation and shipping as Greece is. It’s a centuries-old tradition, going back at least as far as Odysseus’ fateful voyage across the Mediterranean Sea. Greece is home to only around 10.5 million people and has a GDP of approximately $190 billion, and yet Greek shipowners control almost a fifth of total global carrying capacity. This month, the country’s biggest shipowner, billionaire John Angelicoussis, passed away at the age of 72. His firm, the Angelicoussis Shipping Group, is believed to be the largest private shipping empire in the world.
2. Japan
Japan ranks number two in terms of total deadweight tonnage and as a percent of global carrying capacity. The Far East country is looking to disrupt the industry, saying it’s ready to start building zero-emission and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven autonomous ships. Its biggest carrier, Ocean Network Express (ONE), was founded in 2017 as a joint venture between shipping companies Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and K Line.
3. China
The Chinese fleet has seen the largest increase in value for any of the top 10 highest valued fleets. An additional $6.3 billion has been added, bringing up the total fleet value to just over $90 billion. At the same time, they suffered the largest drop in total container fleet value. China has been responsible for much of the incremental demand in LNG consumption, so it's not surprising to see companies based here see a significant increase in value in this market. Asset values surged in line with spot and term market returns. COSL leads the way on the offshore front, owning the fourth highest number of vessels in the world and sixth most valuable. The Chinese government owns the next highest at 52 with a much lower value of $332.6 million. Tianjin Offshore owns the second most valuable fleet of $1.085 billion. Continuing the trend from last year, China has increased its standing from third to second for most vessels on order, however in terms of offshore, the country is in fifth position. This is most likely due to its oversupply hangover after the crash in 2015/16.
4. Singapore
Singaporean owners have jumped up a spot into fourth place, increasing their fleet value by $3.1 billion. They now sit comfortably above the U.S. and Norway yet are a long way from a podium position. The majority of their increase comes from their container growth, most notably attracting the Japanese container liner merger ONE to locate to Singapore. Ownership of offshore vessels continues to be spread more evenly across the key regions with a high presence in the Mexican Gulf and West Africa, and a small presence in the North Sea. The highest concentration of these vessels remains in South East Asia and the Middle East.
5. Norway
Norway maintains pole position as the number one home for offshore assets. Over $20 billion in assets puts it above U.S.-based owners, who clock in at almost $17 billion. The country maintains a sizeable presence in the tanker markets as well. Despite Solstad’s troubles, its offshore prestige is still reflected by its ownership of the world’s second most valuable fleet of AHTS and third most valuable fleet of PSVs, despite having the sixth highest in number.
