Merchant marine
This entry provides the total and the number of each type of privately or publicly owned commercial ship for each country; military ships are not included; the five ships by type include: bulk carrier - for cargo such as coal, grain, cement, ores, and gravel; container ship - for loads in truck-size containers, a transportation system called containerization; general cargo - also referred to as break-bulk containers - for a wide variety of packaged merchandise, such as textiles, furniture and machinery; oil tanker - for crude oil and petroleum products; other - includes chemical carriers, dredgers, liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, refrigerated cargo ships called reefers, tugboats, passenger vessels (cruise and ferry), and offshore supply ships
Country Comparison Ranking
Albania
total: 70
by type: general cargo 47, oil tanker 1, other 22 (2021)Algeria
total: 114
by type: bulk carrier 1, container ship 2, general cargo 11, oil tanker 11, other 89 (2021)Angola
total: 54
by type: general cargo 13, oil tanker 8, other 33 (2021)Anguilla
total: 2
by type: other 2 (2021)Antigua and Barbuda
total: 677
by type: bulk carrier 24, container ship 123, general cargo 473, oil tanker 2, other 55 (2021)Argentina
total: 202
by type: container ship 1,bulk carrier 1 general cargo 8, oil tanker 33, other 159 (2021)Aruba
total: 1
by type: other 1 (2021)Australia
total: 581
by type: bulk carrier 2, general cargo 76, oil tanker 7, other 496 (2021)Austria
total: 1
by type: other 1 (2021)Azerbaijan
total: 305
by type: general cargo 38, oil tanker 43, other 224 (2021)Bahamas, The
total: 1,323
by type: bulk carrier 333, container ship 45, general cargo 64, oil tanker 224, other 657 (2021)Bahrain
total: 205
by type: general cargo 12, oil tanker 4, other 189 (2021)Bangladesh
total: 468
by type: bulk carrier 48, container ship 6, general cargo 140, oil tanker 144, other 130 (2021)Barbados
total: 165
by type: bulk carrier 46, general cargo 103, other 16 (2021)Belarus
total: 4
by type: other 4 (2021)Belgium
total: 201
by type: bulk carrier 19, container ship 7, general cargo 16, oil tanker 21, other 138 (2021)Belize
total: 813
by type: bulk carrier 54, container ship 1, general cargo 428, oil tanker 70, other 260 (2021)Benin
total: 6
by type: other 6 (2021)Bermuda
total: 147
by type: container ship 12, oil tanker 18, other 117 (2021)Bolivia
total: 45
by type: general cargo 29, oil tanker 2, other 14 (2021)Brazil
total: 864
by type: bulk carrier 11, container ship 19, general cargo 42, oil tanker 31, other 761 (2021)British Virgin Islands
total: 30
by type: general cargo 3, other 27 (2021)Brunei
total: 96
by type: general cargo 18, oil tanker 3, other 75 (2021)Bulgaria
total: 79
by type: bulk carrier 4, general cargo 14, oil tanker 8, other 53 (2021)Burma
total: 95
by type: bulk carrier 2, general cargo 39, oil tanker 5, other 49 (2021)Cabo Verde
total: 46
by type: general cargo 16, oil tanker 3, other 27 (2021)Cambodia
total: 245
by type: container ship 2, general cargo 162, oil tanker 18, other 63 (2021)Cameroon
total: 94
by type: bulk carrier 3, container ship 1,general cargo 35, oil tanker 24, other 31 (2021)Canada
total: 679
by type: bulk carrier 22, container ship 1, general cargo 66, oil tanker 15, other 575 (2021)Cayman Islands
total: 160
by type: bulk carrier 32, container ship 1, general cargo 1, oil tanker 23, other 103 (2021)Chile
total: 231
by type: bulk carrier 6, container ship 5, general cargo 58, oil tanker 14, other 148 (2021)China
total: 6,662
by type: bulk carrier 1,558, container ship 341, general cargo 957, oil tanker 1,061, other 2,745 (2021)Colombia
total: 122
by type: general cargo 23, oil tanker 7, other 92 (2021)Comoros
total: 236
by type: bulk carrier 8, container ship 7, general cargo 112, oil tanker 31, other 78 (2021)Congo, Democratic Republic of the
total: 22
by type: general cargo 4, oil tanker 2, other 16 (2021)Congo, Republic of the
total: 11
by type: general cargo 1, oil tanker 1, other 9 (2021)Cook Islands
total: 194
by type: bulk carrier 19, container ship 1, general cargo 57, oil tanker 54, other 63 (2021)Costa Rica
total: 11
by type: other 11 (2021)Cote d'Ivoire
total: 25
by type: oil tanker 2, other 23 (2021)Croatia
total: 354
by type: bulk carrier 14, general cargo 32, oil tanker 16, other 292 (2021)Cuba
total: 59
by type: general cargo 12, oil tanker 7, other 40 (2021)Curacao
total: 63
by type: general cargo 6, oil tanker 1, other 56 (2021)Cyprus
total: 1,051
by type: bulk carrier 269, container ship 182, general cargo 197, oil tanker 59, other 344 (2021)Denmark
total: 717
by type: bulk carrier 8, container ship 148, general cargo 68, oil tanker 105, other 388 (2021)Djibouti
total: 33
by type: bulk carrier 1, container ship 1, general cargo 2, oil tanker 8, other 21 (2021)Dominica
total: 93
by type: general cargo 30, oil tanker 19, other 44 (2021)Dominican Republic
total: 38
by type: container ship 1, general cargo 2, oil tanker 1, other 34 (2021)Ecuador
total: 145
by type: container ship 1, general cargo 7, oil tanker 27, other 110 (2021)Egypt
total: 421
by type: bulk carrier 14, container ship 8, general cargo 27, oil tanker 40, other 332 (2021)El Salvador
total: 2
by type: other 2 (2021)Equatorial Guinea
total: 42
by type: bulk carrier 1, general cargo 8, oil tanker 6, other 27 (2021)Eritrea
total: 9
by type: general cargo 4, oil tanker 1, other 4 (2021)Estonia
total: 68
by type: general cargo 2, oil tanker 4, other 62 (2021)Ethiopia
total: 11
by type: general cargo 9, oil tanker 2 (2020)Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
total: 2
by type: general cargo 1, other 1 (2021)Faroe Islands
total: 101
by type: container ships 6, general cargo 48, oil tanker 1, other 46 (2021)Fiji
total: 73
by type: general cargo 20, oil tanker 4, other 49 (2021)Finland
total: 272
by type: bulk carrier 9, container ship 1, general cargo 74, oil tanker 4, other 184 (2021)France
total: 548
by type: container ship 29, general cargo 50, oil tanker 28, other 441 (2021)
note: includes MonacoFrench Polynesia
total: 24
by type: general cargo 14, other 10 (2021)French Southern and Antarctic Lands
total: 2
by type: other 2 (2021)Gabon
total: 62
by type: bulk carrier 1, general cargo 17, oil tanker 17, other 27 (2021)Gambia, The
total: 8
by type: other 8 (2021)Georgia
total: 25
by type: bulk carrier 2, general cargo 3, other 20 (2021)Germany
total: 599
by type: container ship 77, general cargo 85, oil tanker 36, other 401 (2021)Ghana
total: 51
by type: general cargo 7, oil tanker 3, other 41 (2021)Gibraltar
total: 202
by type: bulk carrier 8, container ship 19, general cargo 55, oil tanker 20, other 100 (2021)Greece
total: 1,236
by type: bulk carrier 158, container ship 5, general cargo 89, oil tanker 337, other 647 (2021)Greenland
total: 8
by type: other 8 (2021)Grenada
total: 6
by type: general cargo 3, other 3 (2021)Guam
total: 3
by type: other 3 (2021)Guatemala
total: 9
by type: oil tanker 1, other 8 (2021)Guinea
total: 2
by type: other 2 (2021)Guinea-Bissau
total: 8
by type: general cargo 5, other 3 (2021)Guyana
total: 56
by type: general cargo 26, oil tanker 7, other 23 (2021)Haiti
total: 4
by type: general cargo 3, other 1 (2021)Honduras
total: 505
by type: bulk carrier 1, general cargo 244, oil tanker 82, other 178 (2021)Hong Kong
total: 2,718
by type: bulk carrier 1,158, container ship 558, general cargo 184, oil tanker 388, other 430 (2021)Hungary
total: 1
by type: other 1 (2021)Iceland
total: 41
by type: general cargo 5, oil tanker 2, other 34 (2021)India
total: 1,801
by type: bulk carrier 63, container ship 22, general cargo 587, oil tanker 136, other 993 (2021)Indonesia
total: 10,427
by type: bulk carrier 148, container ship 226, general cargo 2,238, oil tanker 676, other 7,139 (2021)Iran
total: 893
by type: bulk carrier 32, container ship 31, general cargo 371, oil tanker 84, other 375 (2021)Iraq
total: 68
by type: general cargo 1, oil tanker 6, other 61 (2021)Ireland
total: 96
by type: bulk carrier 12, general cargo 36, oil tanker 1, other 47 (2021)Israel
total: 41
by type: container ship 6, general cargo 2, oil tanker 4, other 29 (2021)Italy
total: 1,296
by type: bulk carrier 36, container ship 7, general cargo 111, oil tanker 103, other 1,039 (2021)Jamaica
total: 43
by type: bulk carrier 1, container ship 5, general cargo 9, oil tanker 1, other 27 (2021)Japan
total: 5,201
by type: bulk carrier 148, container ship 45, general cargo 1,900, oil tanker 666, other 2,442 (2021)Jordan
total: 35
by type: general cargo 6, oil tanker 1, other 28 (2021)Kazakhstan
total: 119
by type: general cargo 3, oil tanker 7, other 109 (2021)Kenya
total: 26
by type: oil tanker 3, other 23 (2021)Kiribati
total: 88
by type: bulk carrier 3, general cargo 35, oil tanker 12, other 38 (2021)Korea, North
total: 264
by type: bulk carrier 8, container ship 5, general cargo 189, oil tanker 33, other 29 (2021)Korea, South
total: 1,904
by type: bulk carrier 78, container ship 91, general cargo 360, oil tanker 184, other 1,191 (2021)Kuwait
total: 165
by type: general cargo 15, oil tanker 28, other 122 (2021)Laos
total: 1
by type: general cargo 1 (2021)Latvia
total: 70
by type: general cargo 22, oil tanker 9, other 39 (2021)Lebanon
total: 48
by type: bulk carrier 2, general cargo 31, oil tanker 1, other 14 (2021)Liberia
total: 3,942
by type: bulk carrier 1,487, container ship 878, general cargo 131, oil tanker 851, other 595 (2021)Libya
total: 94
by type: general cargo 2, oil tanker 12, other 80 (2021)Liechtenstein
total: 20
by type: bulk carrier 16, general cargo 1, other 3 (includes Switzerland) (2021)Lithuania
total: 64
by type: container ship 4, general cargo 24, oil tanker 2, other 34 (2021)Luxembourg
total: 153
by type: bulk carrier 4, container ship 1, general cargo 23, oil tanker 3, other 122 (2021)Macau
total: 1
by type: other 1 (2021)Madagascar
total: 27
by type: general cargo 14, oil tanker 2, other 11 (2021)Malaysia
total: 1,769
by type: bulk carrier 16, container ship 28, general cargo 174, oil tanker 153, other 1,398 (2021)Maldives
total: 68
by type: general cargo 21, oil tanker 19, other 28 (2021)Malta
total: 2,137
by type: bulk carrier 601, container ship 310, general cargo 218, oil tanker 412, other 596 (2021)Marshall Islands
total: 3,817
by type: bulk carrier 1,733, container ship 248, general cargo 66, oil tanker 970, other 800 (2021)Mauritania
total: 5
by type: general cargo 2, other 3 (2021)Mauritius
total: 29
by type: general cargo 1, oil tanker 4, other 24 (2021)Mexico
total: 671
by type: container ship 1, bulk carrier 4, general cargo 11, oil tanker 31, other 624 (2021)Micronesia, Federated States of
total: 38
by type: general cargo 19, oil tanker 4, other 15 (2021)Moldova
total: 147
by type: bulk carrier 5, container ship 5, general cargo 97, oil tanker 7, other 33 (2021)Mongolia
total: 302
by type: bulk carrier 4, container ship 7, general cargo 131, oil tanker 64, other 96 (2021)Montenegro
total: 17
by type: bulk carrier 4, other 13 (2021)Morocco
total: 93
by type: container ship 6, general cargo 5, oil tanker 2, other 80 (2021)Mozambique
total: 30
by type: general cargo 9, other 21 (2021)Namibia
total: 14
by type: general cargo 1, other 13 (2021)Nauru
total: 3
by type: oil tanker 1, other 2 (2021)Netherlands
total: 1,199
by type: bulk carrier 10, container ship 40, general cargo 559, oil tanker 26, other 564 (2021)New Caledonia
total: 24
by type: general cargo 5, oil tanker 1, other 18 (2021)New Zealand
total: 115
by type: container ship 1, general cargo 12, oil tanker 4, other 98 (2021)Nicaragua
total: 5
by type: general cargo 1, oil tanker 1, other 3 (2021)Niger
total: 1
by type: general cargo 1 (2021)Nigeria
total: 791
by type: general cargo 14, oil tanker 110, other 667 (2021)Niue
total: 69
by type: bulk carrier 3, container ship 2, general cargo 25, oil tanker 7, other 32 (2021)Northern Mariana Islands
total: 1
by type: other 1 (2019)Norway
total: 1,644
by type: bulk carrier 109, container ship 1, general cargo 242, oil tanker 96, other 1,196 (2021)Oman
total: 57
by type: general cargo 10, other 47 (2021)Pakistan
total: 57
by type: bulk carrier 5, oil tanker 7, other 45 (2021)Palau
total: 264
by type: bulk carrier 16, container ship 7, general cargo 107, oil tanker 40, other 94 (2021)Panama
total: 7,980
by type: bulk carrier 2,697, container ship 643, general cargo 1,381, oil tanker 771, other 2,488 (2021)Papua New Guinea
total: 177
by type: container ship 6, general cargo 81, oil tanker 3, other 87 (2021)Paraguay
total: 110
by type: container ship 3, general cargo 25, oil tanker 5, other 77 (2021)
note: as of 2017, Paraguay registered 2,012 fluvial vessels of which 1,741 were commercial bargesPeru
total: 98
by type: general cargo 1, oil tanker 8, other 89 (2021)Philippines
total: 1,805
by type: bulk carrier 62, container ship 44, general cargo 716, oil tanker 205, other 778 (2021)Poland
total: 143
by type: general cargo 7, oil tanker 6, other 130 (2021)Portugal
total: 726
by type: bulk carrier 86, container ship 267, general cargo 137, oil tanker 27, other 209 (2021)Qatar
total: 129
by type: bulk carrier 9, container ship 4, general cargo 4, oil tanker 5, other 107 (2021)Romania
total: 121
by type: general cargo 11, oil tanker 6, other 104 (2021)Russia
total: 2,873
by type: bulk carrier 13, container ship 17, general cargo 946, oil tanker 406, other 1,491 (2021)Saint Kitts and Nevis
total: 244
by type: bulk carrier 6, container ship 7, general cargo 45, oil tanker 53, other 133 (2021)Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
total: 792
by type: bulk carrier 27, container ship 17, general cargo 155, oil tanker 16, other 577 (2021)Samoa
total: 12
by type: general cargo 3, oil tanker 3, other 6 (2021)Sao Tome and Principe
total: 22
by type: general cargo 13, oil tanker 2, other 7 (2021)Saudi Arabia
total: 392
by type: bulk carrier 5, container ship 1, general cargo 21, oil tanker 58, other 307 (2021)Senegal
total: 35
by type: general cargo 5, oil tanker 1, other 29 (2021)Seychelles
total: 27
by type: general cargo 5, oil tanker 6, other 16 (2021)Sierra Leone
total: 591
by type: bulk carrier 30, container ship 9, general cargo 319, oil tanker 108, other 125 (2021)Singapore
total: 3,321
by type: bulk carrier 576, container ship 514, general cargo 113, oil tanker 699, other 1,419 (2021)Slovenia
total: 9
by type: other 9 (2021)Solomon Islands
total: 24
by type: general cargo 8, oil tanker 1, other 15 (2021)Somalia
total: 4
by type: general cargo 1, other 3 (2021)South Africa
total: 105
by type: bulk carrier 2, general cargo 1, oil tanker 7, other 95 (2021)Spain
total: 478
by type: bulk carrier 1, general cargo 36, oil tanker 24, other 417 (2021)Sri Lanka
total: 90
by type: bulk carrier 6, general cargo 13, oil tanker 11, other 60 (2021)Sudan
total: 15
by type: other 15 (2021)Suriname
total: 10
by type: general cargo 5, oil tanker 3, other 2 (2021)Sweden
total: 370
by type: general cargo 49, oil tanker 22, other 299 (2021)Switzerland
total: 20
by type: bulk carrier 16, general cargo 1, other 3 (includes Liechtenstein) (2021)Syria
total: 28
by type: bulk carrier 1, general cargo 11, other 16 (2021)Taiwan
total: 429
by type: bulk carrier 37, container ship 49, general cargo 57, oil tanker 33, other 253 (2021)Tanzania
total: 314
by type: bulk carrier 4, container ship 6, general cargo 144, oil tanker 49, other 111 (2021)Thailand
total: 839
by type: bulk carrier 26, container ship 27, general cargo 94, oil tanker 251, other 441 (2021)Timor-Leste
total: 1
by type: other 1 (2021)Togo
total: 411
by type: bulk carrier 1, container ship 9, general cargo 265, oil tanker 56, other 80 (2021)Tonga
total: 32
by type: container ship 4, general cargo 13, oil tanker 1, other 14 (2021)Trinidad and Tobago
total: 105
by type: general cargo 1, other 104 (2021)Tunisia
total: 71
by type: container ship 1, general cargo 8 oil tanker 1, other 61 (2021)Turkey
total: 1,217
by type: bulk carrier 39, container ship 41, general cargo 317, oil tanker 126, other 694 (2021)Turkmenistan
total: 73
by type: general cargo 6, oil tanker 8, other 59 (2021)Turks and Caicos Islands
total: 3
by type: general cargo 1, other 2 (2021)Tuvalu
total: 245
by type: bulk carrier 22, container ship 3, general cargo 32, oil tanker 21, other 167 (2021)Ukraine
total: 409
by type: bulk carrier 1, container ship 1, general cargo 84, oil tanker 15, other 308 (2021)United Arab Emirates
total: 623
by type: bulk carrier 1, container ship 3, general cargo 117, oil tanker 19, other 483 (2021)United Kingdom
total: 1,249
by type: bulk carrier 140, container ship 59, general cargo 109, oil tanker 84, other 857 (2021)United States
total: 3,627
by type: bulk carrier 4, container ship 60, general cargo 103, oil tanker 69, other 3,391 (2021)Uruguay
total: 61
by type: container ship 1, general cargo 4, oil tanker 4, other 52 (2021)Vanuatu
total: 306
by type: bulk carrier 18, container ship 2, general cargo 55, oil tanker 2, other 229 (2021)Venezuela
total: 281
by type: bulk carrier 4, container ship 1, general cargo 26, oil tanker 18, other 232 (2021)Vietnam
total: 1,926
by type: bulk carrier 116, container ship 41, general cargo 1,193, oil tanker 125, other 451 (2021)Virgin Islands
total: 1,868
by type: bulk carrier 91, container ship 39, general cargo 1,205, oil tanker 118, other 415 (2019)Wallis and Futuna
total: 1
by type: other 1 (2021)World
total: 98,202
by type: bulk carrier 12,319, container ship 5,428, general cargo 18,993, oil tanker 11,243, other 50,219 (2021)Yemen
total: 34
by type: general cargo 2, oil tanker 4, other 28 (2021)Zambia
total: 2
by type: general cargo 1, oil tanker 1 (2021)