The 2025 Ranking of the World's Top 10 Ship-owning Nations is Released

Recently, VesselsValue published the latest 2025 ranking of the world's top 10 ship-owning nations. The ranking is based on the total asset value of the active and ordered fleets, benefiting the ship-owning nations.

China has surpassed Japan to take the top spot with a fleet valued at $255 billion, while Switzerland has joined the list with a fleet valued at $68 billion. This report highlights significant changes in asset values and ownership dynamics over the past year.

1st Place: China

China has consistently maintained the number one position in terms of the number of ships and also leads in fleet value, surpassing Japan to reach $255 billion. China possesses the most valuable bulk carrier and container ship fleets, valued at $68.4 billion and $63.5 billion respectively. This fact establishes its leading position, especially since the values of ships in these two sectors have remained strong over the past year.

This is due to market fundamental improvements brought about by the Red Sea crisis. As ships reroute around the Cape of Good Hope, the demand for ton-miles for most ships has increased. For example, the value of a 20-year-old, 180,000 DWT Capesize bulk carrier increased by approximately 26.98% from $13.86 million to $17.6 million last year. Similarly, the value of a 20-year-old, 1,750 TEU handy container ship surged from $5.97 million to $16.23 million, an unprecedented increase of about 171.86%.

China also owns the largest number of tankers, with 1,764 ships currently valued at $47.9 billion.

2nd Place: Japan

Japan has dropped to second place this year, although its total fleet value increased from $206.3 billion in 2024 to $231.3 billion at the beginning of 2025, a year-on-year increase of about 12%. Japan has made significant investments in the bulk carrier sector, adding nearly 60 ships, which will somewhat enhance the overall value of the fleet. In 2024, the value of bulk carriers hovered near a 15-year high, with the value of older 20-year-old Capesize bulk carriers peaking at $20.32 million in October 2024.

Among the largest ship-owning nations, Japan has the most valuable and largest fleets in the liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), reefer, and car carrier sectors, with fleet values of $40.9 billion, $15.1 billion, $1.3 billion, and $2.48 billion, respectively.

3rd Place: Greece

Greece maintains its third position in terms of both total fleet value and the number of ships. Although China owns more tankers, Greece's tanker fleet is more valuable, reaching $71.3 billion, $23.3 billion higher than China's.

In recent years, various geopolitical environments, such as conflicts in the Red Sea region and ongoing sanctions against Russia, have led to an increase in ton-mile demand. This growth has supported tanker earnings, keeping their values high throughout the year. For instance, the value of a 10-year-old, 75,000 DWT LR1 tanker reached a 15-year high at the end of 2024, increasing from $38.27 million to $43.85 million, a year-on-year increase of 14.58%.

Greece remains the owner of the second-largest LNG fleet, with 143 ships valued at $32.4 billion. Due to surging demand, the value of ships in this sector has remained high over the past few years, increasing by more than $1 billion compared to last year.

4th Place: United States

The United States retains its fourth position, with a total fleet value of $116.4 billion, an increase of over $16.5 billion from the previous report. The cruise sector remains the strongest maritime asset for the United States, valued at $58.6 billion, consolidating its position as the world's largest cruise owner. This is unsurprising, given that the headquarters of the two leading cruise companies, Carnival and Royal Caribbean, are both based in the United States.

Since maintaining its dominant position in the cruise sector, the fleet value has increased by nearly $10 billion since the last report.

The United States, with 40 roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) ships, ranks behind Japan and Turkey, which have 88 and 50 RoRo ships, respectively.

5th Place: Singapore

Singapore maintains its fifth position this year, with a fleet value of approximately $107.2 billion, an increase of over $21 billion from last year. In terms of the number of ships owned, Singapore ranks fourth. Singapore's LPG and multi-purpose vessel fleets rank second globally in value, at $14 billion and $4.4 billion, respectively. The robust LPG market continues to drive up the value of ships in this sector, with a significant increase of about 50.5% compared to the previous report.

6th Place: South Korea

South Korea holds its sixth position this year, with a fleet value of $69.6 billion, an increase of nearly $2 billion since last year. However, in terms of the number of ships, the country is not among the top ten and was surpassed by newcomers like the United Arab Emirates last year. South Korea's investment in the LNG ship sector continues to yield returns, with the value of ships in this sector remaining high at $17.2 billion. South Korea has traditionally been a major global car exporter. Like in previous years, the country has also made substantial investments in new shipbuilding. Glovis has ordered six large car carriers to be built in Guangzhou Zhongchuan and delivered in 2028, with each contract valued at $125 million.

7th Place: United Kingdom

Although the United Kingdom does not rank in the top 10 in terms of the number of ships, it has risen one position in the fleet value ranking over the past two years, now standing at seventh place. Cruises account for about 25% of the value of the British fleet, making it the most valuable sector for the UK. Container ships follow, accounting for about 17%, with their value increasing by approximately 2% last year due to improved market fundamentals and rising values. In the tanker sector, earnings have continued to grow strongly, with the value of the UK tanker fleet increasing by about 32% since the last report, from $7.2 billion in January 2024 to $9.5 billion in January 2025. Due to recent investments in the LPG shipping sector, the value of this fleet has remained stable at around $5.3 billion.

8th Place: Norway

After being overtaken by the United Kingdom, Norway now ranks eighth with a total fleet value of $68.5 billion, an increase of nearly $10 billion from the previous report.

This is largely driven by investments in natural gas vessels; the value of Norway's liquefied natural gas (LNG) fleet accounts for about 20% of the country's total fleet value, reaching $13.6 billion. The share of the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fleet is approximately 4.5%, amounting to $3.1 billion. Oil tankers also constitute a significant portion of Norway's fleet, around 16%, valued at $10.9 billion.

Norway is also the second-largest owner of car carriers, with a value of $10.8 billion, accounting for about 15.8% of the fleet's total value, an increase of over one billion dollars from last year.

9th place: Switzerland

Switzerland re-entered the top ten this year with a fleet value of $68 billion, mainly due to improved market sentiment leading to robust container ship values and ongoing investments by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), a container ship owner based in the Mediterranean.

In 2024, MSC, headquartered in Switzerland, continued its investment spree from the past few years, adding 63 second-hand ships to its fleet, primarily container ships, along with an astonishing order of 64 new ships. This order includes a mix of ultra-large container ships and new Panamax-type container ships, all of which are scheduled to be built in Chinese shipyards and delivered between 2026 and 2029.

10th place: Germany

Germany's global ranking fell for the second consecutive year, dropping from ninth to tenth place this year. Traditionally, a large portion of Germany's fleet consists of container ships, ranking second in terms of the number of vessels.

However, from a capital perspective, Germany's fleet ranks fifth with a value of $27.7 billion, representing a considerable increase of about 55.6% compared to the last report's value of $17.8 billion for the German fleet.

It is noted that the data in this report is valid until January 2025. The total value of the fleets of the top ten shipowner countries and regions includes the following types of vessels: bulk carriers, oil tankers, container ships, small dry bulk carriers, liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) ships, offshore support vessels, offshore construction vessels, mobile offshore drilling units, car carriers, roll-on/roll-off ships, reefer vessels, renewable energy vessels, and cruise ships.