VesselsValue shared key data regarding the top shipowning nations of the world, noting that Japan held the lead for another consecutive year, followed by Greece and China.
1. Japan
Japan remains the top ship owning nation by fleet value at just over USD 108 billion, despite seeing USD 9 billion wiped off from its 2019 total value.
This drop has largely been due to the fall in values seen in the Dry Bulk sector, which experienced a mixed 2019 and an even worse start to 2020.
2. Greece
The Greek owned fleet value stayed consistent between 2019 and 2020, with its current fleet value at USD 100.5 billion.
The consistency seen by this fleet value is due to the increase in Tanker values, which experienced a bumper end to 2019.
This had much to do with geopolitical instability in the key shipping lane of the Strait of Hormuz, but also with vessels taken out of the fleet to be used as storage gambles on the IMO 2020 fuel spread.
This offset the falls seen in Bulker and Container values.
Out of the 320 vessels bought by Greek owned companies in the last year (March 2019 to present), almost half of those are Bulkers. Notorious asset players, it looks as if the Greeks are taking advantage of falling Bulker prices to pick up cheaper than usual assets.
3. China
China round off the top 3, with a fleet value of over double that of fourth placed Singapore.
This demonstrates the dominance of the top 3 ship owning nations have over the rest of the market.
Chinese owners have seen values rise notably in the Tanker and Container sectors, with rapid expansions of vessel and fleet size, but Chinese owners have taken significant losses in the MODU sector.
4. Singapore
Singaporean owners have seen their fleet value fall marginally to USD 44 billion. This is particularly due to the exposure to the Bulker and Offshore markets.
They are still a long way off the top three owners by fleet value.
However, Singaporean owners have seen a large increase in LPG and Container sectors.
5. Norway
Norway have seen their fleet value drop by almost USD 7 billion to USD 39 billion in the last 12 months, mostly due to the fall in MODU values, particularly Jack Ups.
The Offshore focused nation will be concerned over the recent oil price volatility and the long term outlook for the offshore drilling sector.
6. South Korea
South Korea have seen their fleet grow in value by USD 0.2 billion since this time last year.
The rise came mostly in the LNG sector, with South Korean companies focusing their efforts on large LNG vessels.
Strong exposure to both Tanker and Bulker sectors has meant the two have balanced each other out with their mixed years.
7. US
US has seen their fleet value fall by USD 6 billion to USD 33 billion, similarly to Norway, they have fallen victim to the falls seen in the Offshore market.
However, large exposure to the Tanker market has helped offset losses in other sectors.
8. Germany
German financiers have been steadily retreating from the shipping industry, and this is shown in the German fleet value falling between 2019 and 2020.
Sticking with tradition, the German owned container fleet is third largest globally at USD 15.4 billion despite falling by USD 3 billion in value in the last year.
9. UK
The UK has seen its fleet contract slightly in value, but not by enough to see it drop out of the top 10.
The UK fleet is very diverse, with most of the blame for the loss of value going to the offshore sector.
10. Denmark
The Danish fleet has marginally shrunk, and currently sits at USD 20.8 billion.
Denmark’s largest exposure is to the container industry, which has seen little volatility over the last year which resulted in the minimal change in value.
