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Field Listing :: Merchant marine
Merchant marine may be defined as all ships engaged in the carriage of goods; or all commercial vessels (as opposed to all nonmilitary ships), which excludes tugs, fishing vessels, offshore oil rigs, etc. This entry contains information in four fields - total, ships by type, foreign-owned, and registered in other countries.
Total includes the number of ships (1,000 GRT or over), total DWT for those ships, and total GRT for those ships. DWT or dead weight tonnage is the total weight of cargo, plus bunkers, stores, etc., that a ship can carry when immersed to the appropriate load line. GRT or gross register tonnage is a figure obtained by measuring the entire sheltered volume of a ship available for cargo and passengers and converting it to tons on the basis of 100 cubic feet per ton; there is no stable relationship between GRT and DWT.
Ships by type includes a listing of barge carriers, bulk cargo ships, cargo ships, chemical tankers, combination bulk carriers, combination ore/oil carriers, container ships, liquefied gas tankers, livestock carriers, multifunctional large-load carriers, petroleum tankers, passenger ships, passenger/cargo ships, railcar carriers, refrigerated cargo ships, roll-on/roll-off cargo ships, short-sea passenger ships, specialized tankers, and vehicle carriers.
Foreign-owned are ships that fly the flag of one country but belong to owners in another.
Registered in other countries are ships that belong to owners in one country but fly the flag of another.

Country Comparison Ranking

By Country Listing of the values for the Merchant marine field
Country Merchant marine
Albania
total: 57 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 1, general cargo 49, other 7 (2017)
Algeria
total: 110 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 3, general cargo 13, oil tanker 9, other 85 (2017)
Angola
total: 55 (2017)
by type: general cargo 14, oil tanker 9, other 32 (2017)
Anguilla
total: 1 (2017)
by type: other 1 (2017)
Antigua and Barbuda
total: 964 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 36, container ship 238, general cargo 615, oil tanker 2, other 73 (2017)
Argentina
total: 161 (2017)
by type: container ship 1, general cargo 9, oil tanker 27, other 124 (2017)
Australia
total: 549 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 4, general cargo 83, oil tanker 10, other 452 (2017)
Azerbaijan
total: 311 (2017)
by type: general cargo 48, oil tanker 48, other 215 (2017)
Bahamas, The
total: 1,440 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 335, container ship 53, general cargo 98, oil tanker 284, other 670 (2017)
Bahrain
total: 260 (2017)
by type: container ship 3, general cargo 11, oil tanker 4, other 242 (2017)
Bangladesh
total: 306 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 28, container ship 4, general cargo 75, oil tanker 110, other 89 (2017)
Barbados
total: 112 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 18, general cargo 71, oil tanker 2, other 21 (2017)
Belarus
total: 4 (2017)
by type: other 4 (2017)
Belgium
total: 185 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 15, general cargo 15, oil tanker 20, other 135 (2017)
Belize
total: 756 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 53, container ship 3, general cargo 373, oil tanker 55, other 272 (2017)
Benin
total: 6 (2017)
by type: other 6 (2017)
Bermuda
total: 160 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 10, container ship 8, general cargo 1, oil tanker 18, other 123 (2017)
Bolivia
total: 55 (2017)
by type: general cargo 41, oil tanker 3, other 11 (2017)
Brazil
total: 775 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 20, container ship 18, general cargo 48, oil tanker 38, other 651 (2017)
British Virgin Islands
total: 20 (2017)
by type: general cargo 4, other 16 (2017)
Brunei
total: 106 (2018)
by type: general cargo 20, LNG tanker 5, other 81 (2018)
Bulgaria
total: 80 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 2, general cargo 18, oil tanker 8, other 52 (2017)
Burma
total: 97 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 1, general cargo 43, oil tanker 5, other 48 (2017)
Cabo Verde
total: 42 (2017)
by type: general cargo 19, oil tanker 2, other 21 (2017)
Cambodia
total: 442 (2017)
by type: container ship 3, general cargo 328, oil tanker 26, other 85 (2017)
Cameroon
total: 19 (2017)
by type: general cargo 4, other 15 (2017)
Canada
total: 639 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 16, container ship 1, general cargo 88, oil tanker 15, other 519 (2017)
Cayman Islands
total: 161 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 29, general cargo 4, oil tanker 16, other 112 (2017)
Chile
total: 211 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 10, container ship 5, general cargo 54, oil tanker 12, other 130 (2017)
China
total: 4,287 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 1069, container ship 198, general cargo 697, oil tanker 480, other 1843 (2017)
Colombia
total: 103 (2017)
by type: general cargo 17, oil tanker 9, other 77 (2017)
Comoros
total: 203 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 4, container ship 1, general cargo 86, oil tanker 26, other 86 (2017)
Congo, Democratic Republic of the
total: 33 (2017)
by type: general cargo 18, oil tanker 1, other 14 (2017)
Congo, Republic of the
total: 40 (2017)
by type: general cargo 27, oil tanker 2, other 11 (2017)
Cook Islands
total: 218 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 27, container ship 5, general cargo 102, oil tanker 17, other 67 (2017)
Costa Rica
total: 10 (2017)
by type: general cargo 2, other 8 (2017)
Cote d'Ivoire
total: 9 (2017)
by type: oil tanker 2, other 7 (2017)
Croatia
total: 288 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 17, general cargo 39, oil tanker 18, other 214 (2017)
Cuba
total: 43 (2017)
by type: general cargo 11, oil tanker 3, other 29 (2017)
Curacao
total: 92 (2017)
by type: general cargo 18, oil tanker 1, other 73 (2017)
Cyprus
total: 1,022 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 307, container ship 183, general cargo 164, oil tanker 57, other 311 (2017)
Denmark
total: 654 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 7, container ship 114, general cargo 77, oil tanker 75, other 381 (2017)
Djibouti
total: 18 (2017)
by type: oil tanker 2, other 16 (2017)
Dominica
total: 76 (2017)
by type: general cargo 24, oil tanker 15, other 37 (2017)
Dominican Republic
total: 23 (2017)
by type: general cargo 2, other 21 (2017)
Ecuador
total: 138 (2017)
by type: general cargo 6, oil tanker 37, other 95 (2017)
Egypt
total: 399 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 14, container ship 8, general cargo 33, oil tanker 36, other 308 (2017)
El Salvador
total: 2 (2017)
by type: other 2 (2017)
Equatorial Guinea
total: 40 (2017)
by type: container ship 1, general cargo 7, oil tanker 8, other 24 (2017)
Eritrea
total: 9 (2017)
by type: general cargo 4, oil tanker 1, other 4 (2017)
Estonia
total: 78 (2017)
by type: general cargo 7, oil tanker 5, other 66 (2017)
Ethiopia
total: 11 (2017)
by type: general cargo 9, oil tanker 2 (2017)
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
total: 3 (2017)
by type: general cargo 1, other 2 (2017)
Faroe Islands
total: 96 (2017)
by type: container ship 2, general cargo 41, oil tanker 1, other 52 (2017)
Fiji
total: 68 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 6, general cargo 25, oil tanker 2, other 35 (2017)
Finland
total: 267 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 7, container ship 1, general cargo 92, oil tanker 5, other 162 (2017)
France
total: 555 (2017)
by type: container ship 24, general cargo 72, oil tanker 28, other 431 (2017)

note: includes Monaco

French Polynesia
total: 17 (2017)
by type: general cargo 8, other 9 (2017)
Gabon
total: 27 (2017)
by type: general cargo 11, oil tanker 1, other 15 (2017)
Gambia, The
total: 8 (2017)
by type: other 8 (2017)
Georgia
total: 84 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 1, general cargo 24, oil tanker 2, other 57 (2017)
Germany
total: 614 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 1, container ship 117, general cargo 87, oil tanker 34, other 375 (2017)
Ghana
total: 44 (2017)
by type: general cargo 6, oil tanker 2, other 36 (2017)
Gibraltar
total: 291 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 8, container ship 31, general cargo 116, oil tanker 20, other 116 (2017)
Greece
total: 1,364 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 207, container ship 7, general cargo 127, oil tanker 423, other 600 (2017)
Greenland
total: 8 (2017)
by type: general cargo 1, other 7 (2017)
Grenada
total: 6 (2017)
by type: general cargo 3, other 3 (2017)
Guam
total: 3 (2017)
by type: other 3 (2017)
Guatemala
total: 9 (2017)
by type: oil tanker 1, other 8 (2017)
Guinea
total: 1 (2017)
by type: other 1 (2017)
Guinea-Bissau
total: 9 (2017)
by type: general cargo 5, other 4 (2017)
Guyana
total: 55 (2017)
by type: general cargo 26, oil tanker 6, other 23 (2017)
Haiti
total: 4 (2017)
by type: general cargo 3, other 1 (2017)
Honduras
total: 552 (2017)
by type: container ship 1, general cargo 250, oil tanker 90, other 211 (2017)
Hong Kong
total: 2,576 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 1142, container ship 471, general cargo 226, oil tanker 346, other 391 (2017)
Iceland
total: 33 (2017)
by type: general cargo 6, oil tanker 1, other 26 (2017)
India
total: 1,674 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 74, container ship 20, general cargo 571, oil tanker 126, other 883 (2017)
Indonesia
total: 8,782 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 81, container ship 194, general cargo 2142, oil tanker 544, other 5821 (2017)
Iran
total: 739 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 32, container ship 28, general cargo 340, oil tanker 26, other 313 (2017)
Iraq
total: 77 (2017)
by type: general cargo 1, oil tanker 6, other 70 (2017)
Ireland
total: 83 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 9, general cargo 28, oil tanker 1, other 45 (2017)
Israel
total: 42 (2017)
by type: container ship 5, general cargo 4, oil tanker 3, other 30 (2017)
Italy
total: 1,430 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 65, container ship 10, general cargo 145, oil tanker 135, other 1075 (2017)
Jamaica
total: 41 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 3, container ship 8, general cargo 11, other 19 (2017)
Japan
total: 5,289 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 150, container ship 20, general cargo 1963, oil tanker 714, other 2442 (2017)
Jordan
total: 31 (2017)
by type: general cargo 9, oil tanker 1, other 21 (2017)
Kazakhstan
total: 119 (2017)
by type: general cargo 4, oil tanker 10, other 105 (2017)
Kenya
total: 20 (2017)
by type: oil tanker 2, other 18 (2017)
Kiribati
total: 133 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 5, general cargo 51, oil tanker 22, other 55 (2017)
Korea, North
total: 248 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 6, container ship 3, general cargo 184, oil tanker 25, other 30 (2017)
Korea, South
total: 1,907 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 100, container ship 89, general cargo 394, oil tanker 201, other 1123 (2017)
Kuwait
total: 161 (2017)
by type: container ship 1, general cargo 18, oil tanker 27, other 115 (2017)
Laos
total: 1 (2017)
by type: general cargo 1 (2017)
Latvia
total: 65 (2017)
by type: general cargo 15, oil tanker 8, other 42 (2017)
Lebanon
total: 54 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 1, container ship 1, general cargo 39, oil tanker 1, other 12 (2017)
Liberia
total: 3,296 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 984, container ship 892, general cargo 120, oil tanker 750, other 550 (2017)
Libya
total: 98 (2017)
by type: general cargo 2, oil tanker 16, other 80 (2017)
Lithuania
total: 60 (2017)
by type: container ship 2, general cargo 27, oil tanker 2, other 29 (2017)
Luxembourg
total: 152 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 3, container ship 21, general cargo 2, other 126 (2017)
Macau
total: 1 (2017)
by type: other 1 (2017)
Madagascar
total: 28 (2017)
by type: general cargo 15, oil tanker 3, other 10 (2017)
Malaysia
total: 1,690 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 12, container ship 26, general cargo 188, oil tanker 129, other 1335 (2017)
Maldives
total: 66 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 1, container ship 1, general cargo 27, oil tanker 14, other 23 (2017)
Malta
total: 2,170 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 660, container ship 285, general cargo 317, oil tanker 330, other 578 (2017)
Marshall Islands
total: 3,199 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 1263, container ship 260, general cargo 80, oil tanker 775, other 821 (2017)
Mauritania
total: 6 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 1, general cargo 2, other 3 (2017)
Mauritius
total: 28 (2017)
by type: general cargo 2, oil tanker 3, other 23 (2017)
Mexico
total: 622 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 5, general cargo 9, oil tanker 32, other 576 (2017)
Micronesia, Federated States of
total: 88 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 2, general cargo 63, oil tanker 6, other 17 (2017)
Moldova
total: 172 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 5, container ship 2, general cargo 130, oil tanker 8, other 27 (2017)
Mongolia
total: 261 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 8, container ship 5, general cargo 101, oil tanker 67, other 80 (2017)
Montenegro
total: 12 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 4, other 8 (2017)
Morocco
total: 82 (2017)
by type: container ship 6, general cargo 6, oil tanker 1, other 69 (2017)
Mozambique
total: 27 (2017)
by type: general cargo 10, other 17 (2017)
Namibia
total: 9 (2017)
by type: general cargo 1, other 8 (2017)
Netherlands
total: 1,244 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 11, container ship 42, general cargo 597, oil tanker 15, other 579 (2017)
New Caledonia
total: 9 (2017)
by type: general cargo 2, other 7 (2017)
New Zealand
total: 103 (2017)
by type: general cargo 16, oil tanker 4, other 83 (2017)
Nicaragua
total: 5 (2017)
by type: general cargo 1, oil tanker 1, other 3 (2017)
Niger
total: 2 (2017)
by type: oil tanker 1, other 1 (2017)
Nigeria
total: 583 (2017)
by type: general cargo 14, oil tanker 83, other 486 (2017)
Norway
total: 1,585 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 99, general cargo 240, oil tanker 80, other 1166 (2017)
Oman
total: 51 (2017)
by type: general cargo 9, other 42 (2017)
Pakistan
total: 52 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 5, oil tanker 6, other 41 (2017)
Panama
total: 8,052 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 2665, container ship 617, general cargo 1293, oil tanker 809, other 2668 (2017)
Papua New Guinea
total: 173 (2017)
by type: container ship 8, general cargo 80, oil tanker 3, other 82 (2017)
Paraguay
total: 78
by type: container ship 3, general cargo 22, oil tanker 6, other 47

note: as of 2017, Paraguay registered 2,012 fluvial vessels of which 1,741 were commercial barges

Peru
total: 88 (2017)
by type: container ship 2, oil tanker 12, other 74 (2017)
Philippines
total: 1,508 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 64, container ship 33, general cargo 627, oil tanker 184, other 600 (2017)
Poland
total: 152 (2017)
by type: container ship 1, general cargo 13, oil tanker 7, other 131 (2017)
Portugal
total: 466 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 52, container ship 165, general cargo 57, oil tanker 7, other 185 (2017)
Qatar
total: 143 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 8, container ship 6, general cargo 5, oil tanker 6, other 118 (2017)
Romania
total: 114 (2017)
by type: general cargo 13, oil tanker 7, other 94 (2017)
Russia
total: 2,572 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 16, container ship 13, general cargo 874, oil tanker 411, other 1258 (2017)
Saint Kitts and Nevis
total: 274 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 6, container ship 5, general cargo 58, oil tanker 60, other 145 (2017)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
total: 882 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 22, container ship 12, general cargo 198, oil tanker 17, other 633 (2017)
Samoa
total: 10 (2017)
by type: general cargo 4, other 6 (2017)
Sao Tome and Principe
total: 16 (2017)
by type: general cargo 12, other 4 (2017)
Saudi Arabia
total: 357 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 5, container ship 1, general cargo 19, oil tanker 31, other 301 (2017)
Senegal
total: 26 (2017)
by type: general cargo 3, oil tanker 1, other 22 (2017)
Seychelles
total: 24 (2017)
by type: general cargo 4, oil tanker 6, other 14 (2017)
Sierra Leone
total: 451 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 20, container ship 10, general cargo 252, oil tanker 59, other 110 (2017)
Singapore
total: 3,558 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 592, container ship 504, general cargo 134, oil tanker 722, other 1606 (2017)
Slovenia
total: 7 (2017)
by type: other 7 (2017)
Solomon Islands
total: 22 (2017)
by type: general cargo 6, other 16 (2017)
Somalia
total: 5 (2017)
by type: general cargo 2, other 3 (2017)
South Africa
total: 82 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 2, general cargo 1, oil tanker 5, other 74 (2017)
Spain
total: 472 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 1, general cargo 44, oil tanker 28, other 399 (2017)
Sri Lanka
total: 82 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 8, container ship 1, general cargo 9, oil tanker 10, other 54 (2017)
Sudan
total: 17 (2017)
by type: general cargo 1, other 16 (2017)
Suriname
total: 10 (2017)
by type: general cargo 5, oil tanker 3, other 2 (2017)
Sweden
total: 368 (2017)
by type: general cargo 71, oil tanker 23, other 274 (2017)
Switzerland
total: 51 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 30, general cargo 12, oil tanker 1, other 8 (2017)
Syria
total: 21 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 1, general cargo 7, other 13 (2017)
Taiwan
total: 350 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 26, container ship 38, general cargo 59, oil tanker 24, other 203 (2017)
Tanzania
total: 279 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 10, container ship 9, general cargo 147, oil tanker 29, other 84 (2017)
Thailand
total: 781 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 25, container ship 23, general cargo 94, oil tanker 240, other 399 (2017)
Togo
total: 308 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 11, container ship 3, general cargo 199, oil tanker 44, other 51 (2017)
Tonga
total: 34 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 1, container ship 1, general cargo 14, oil tanker 1, other 17 (2017)
Trinidad and Tobago
total: 105 (2017)
by type: general cargo 1, other 104 (2017)
Tunisia
total: 62 (2017)
by type: general cargo 13, oil tanker 1, other 48 (2017)
Turkey
total: 1,285 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 78, container ship 50, general cargo 432, oil tanker 121, other 604 (2017)
Turkmenistan
total: 73 (2017)
by type: general cargo 8, oil tanker 8, other 57 (2017)
Turks and Caicos Islands
total: 4 (2017)
by type: general cargo 1, other 3 (2017)
Tuvalu
total: 245 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 18, container ship 2, general cargo 36, oil tanker 27, other 162 (2017)
Uganda
total: 1 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 1 (2017)
Ukraine
total: 419 (2017)
by type: general cargo 91, oil tanker 15, other 313 (2017)
United Arab Emirates
total: 618 (2017)
by type: general cargo 97, oil tanker 26, other 495 (2017)
United Kingdom
total: 1,551 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 117, container ship 112, general cargo 175, oil tanker 173, other 974 (2017)
United States
total: 3,611 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 5, container ship 61, general cargo 114, oil tanker 66, other 3365 (2017)
Uruguay
total: 56 (2017)
by type: container ship 1, general cargo 6, oil tanker 4, other 45 (2017)
Vanuatu
total: 421 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 22, container ship 1, general cargo 27, other 371 (2017)
Venezuela
total: 267 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 4, container ship 1, general cargo 31, oil tanker 24, other 207 (2017)
Vietnam
total: 1,818 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 81, container ship 34, general cargo 1259, oil tanker 109, other 335 (2017)
World
total: 91,557 (2017)
by type: bulk carrier 10872, container ship 5137, general cargo 19160, oil tanker 9995, other 46396 (2017)
Yemen
total: 31 (2017)
by type: general cargo 3, oil tanker 4, other 24 (2017)
Zambia
total: 1 (2017)
by type: other 1 (2017)