At the start of 2019, the top 10 countries of ship owners account for 547 billion USD worth oif ships, a value which has gone up 6% compared to the start of 2018.
Source: Vessels Valye, 6/2/2019
Ranking explained
#1 Greece
The Greek fleet has increased its total value by over USD 5 billion in one year. This is the 2nd biggest increase in value for any of the top 10 shipping nations. The total asset value of the Greek owned fleet has topped USD 100 billion, a significant milestone.
The increased fortune comes from growth in LNG ordering and a tanker value uptick. Greece has moved into pole position as owning the highest valued LNG fleet in the world, up from USD 13 billion at the start of 2018 to USD 18.4 billion.
#2 Japan
Japan, whose fleet at USD 15.2 billion remains in second place of the top owning countries. The rebound in bulker values was the largest boost to the end of year fleet valuation, followed by tankers and LNG carriers. It is interesting to note that Japan based companies saw the largest addition of value from LPG carriers, a segment in which many other nations saw an erosion of value.
#3 China
The Chinese fleet has seen the largest increase in value for any of the top 10 highest valued fleets. An additional USD 6.3 billion has been added, bringing up the total fleet value to just over USD 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. It is 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 4th highest number of vessels in the world and 6th most valuable. The Chinese government owns the next highest at 52 with a much lower value of USD 332.6 million. Tianjin Offshore owns the second most valuable fleet of USD 1.085 billion.
Continuing the trend from last year, China has increased its standing from 3rd to 2nd
for most vessels on order, however in terms of offshore, the country is in 5th 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 4th place, increasing their fleet value by USD 3.1 billion. They now sit comfortably above the USA 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.