Research
How Many Cargo Ships Are There? 115,649 Ships in 2026
Short answer
UNCTAD counts 115,649 merchant ships in the world fleet at the start of 2026, able to carry 2.53 billion deadweight tons between them. Of those, 56,266 fall in its 4 cargo categories: 21,661 general cargo ships, 14,630 bulk carriers, 12,931 oil tankers and 7,044 container ships. Here is the fleet by type, size, flag and year, and what the container count means for a brand that imports.
UNCTAD counts 115,649 merchant ships at the start of 2026
UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) publishes a statistical series on the world’s merchant fleet, sorted by the flag each ship is registered under and by 5 ship types. Its merchant fleet figures for 2026, in a file updated in May 2026, put the fleet at 115,649 ships at the start of the year. That is 2,867 more than 12 months earlier, a rise of 2.5%. Carrying capacity grew faster, by 85.2 million deadweight tons (dwt), or 3.5%, to 2.53 billion dwt.
UNCTAD’s 4 cargo categories (oil tankers, bulk carriers, general cargo ships and container ships) hold 56,266 of those ships and 88.2% of the capacity. The rest sit in a catch-all group of other types. Container ships, the type that carries goods already packed in standard boxes, number 7,044.
Ship count, deadweight and gross tonnage: 3 ways to size the fleet
A count of ships has 3 defensible answers, because the fleet can be measured in hulls, in carrying capacity or in enclosed volume, and each measure ranks the ship types in a different order. Deadweight tonnage is the weight in metric tons a ship can take on board: cargo plus fuel, water and stores. Gross tonnage measures the enclosed volume of a hull, so despite the name it is not a weight.
| Measure | What it counts | World fleet, start of 2026 | Largest group |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of ships | Each registered ship once, whatever its size | 115,649 | Other types: 59,383 ships (51.3%) |
| Deadweight tonnage (dwt) | Weight a ship can load: cargo, fuel, water, stores | 2,528.8 million dwt | Bulk carriers: 1,067.3 million dwt (42.2%) |
| Gross tonnage (GT) | Enclosed volume of the hull | 1,737.5 million GT | Bulk carriers: 591.2 million GT (34.0%) |
Scope moves the number as much as the unit does. Quote the whole register and the answer is 115,649 ships. Keep the 4 cargo categories and it falls to 56,266. Keep the 3 biggest types by capacity (bulk carriers, tankers and container ships) and 34,605 ships still hold 84.6% of the world’s deadweight.
| Scope | Ships, start of 2026 | Share of fleet capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Every merchant ship on the register | 115,649 | 100% |
| 4 cargo categories (tankers, bulk, general cargo, container) | 56,266 | 88.2% |
| Bulk carriers, oil tankers and container ships | 34,605 | 84.6% |
| Container ships only | 7,044 | 15.4% |
Cargo ships by type: bulk carriers, tankers, general cargo and container ships
| Ship type | Ships | Share of ships | Capacity (million dwt) | Share of capacity | Average dwt per ship | Average age (years) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulk carriers | 14,630 | 12.7% | 1,067.3 | 42.2% | 72,953 | 12.9 |
| Oil tankers | 12,931 | 11.2% | 683.4 | 27.0% | 52,850 | 21.1 |
| Container ships | 7,044 | 6.1% | 388.5 | 15.4% | 55,158 | 14.2 |
| General cargo | 21,661 | 18.7% | 91.8 | 3.6% | 4,238 | 27.6 |
| Other types | 59,383 | 51.3% | 297.7 | 11.8% | 5,014 | 24.1 |
| All ships | 115,649 | 100% | 2,528.8 | 100% | 21,866 | 22.4 |
Bulk carriers do the fleet’s heavy lifting. The 14,630 of them carry loose dry cargo such as ore, coal and grain in open holds, and at 72,953 dwt each on average they lead on both total and per-ship capacity. They are also the youngest type, at 12.9 years.
Oil tankers number 12,931 and hold 27.0% of capacity. Crude oil accounted for 2.04 billion of the 12.05 billion tons loaded at the world’s ports in 2024, by UNCTAD’s seaborne trade series, and a tanker that loads inside the Persian Gulf reaches open sea only by sailing out through the Strait of Hormuz.
General cargo ships are the most numerous cargo type, at 21,661, yet they hold 3.6% of capacity. The average one can load 4,238 dwt, and at 27.6 years the group is the oldest in the fleet.
Container ships are the smallest cargo group by count, 7,044 ships or 6.1% of hulls. At 55,158 dwt the average container ship is a little larger than the average tanker, and it is the type a brand’s boxed imports ride on.
Merchant ships by type, start of 2026
- Other types59,383
- General cargo21,661
- Bulk carriers14,630
- Oil tankers12,931
- Container ships7,044
Source: UNCTADstat, merchant fleet by flag and ship type (US.MerchantFleet), 2026
Container ships: 7,044 at the start of 2026
No ship type has grown faster since 2021. UNCTAD counted 5,495 container ships at the start of 2021 and 7,044 at the start of 2026, an increase of 1,549 ships, or 28.2%, after a gain of 269 over the 5 years before. Bulk carriers grew 18.2% over the same 5 years and tankers 12.1%. Container capacity grew faster than the count: it rose 9.7% during 2024 and 6.7% during 2025, when the fleet as a whole grew 3.5%.
| Start of year | Container ships | Capacity (million dwt) | Share of fleet capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 4,966 | 183.7 | 13.0% |
| 2016 | 5,226 | 244.3 | 13.5% |
| 2021 | 5,495 | 282.3 | 13.2% |
| 2023 | 6,077 | 307.7 | 13.5% |
| 2024 | 6,370 | 331.8 | 14.0% |
| 2025 | 6,789 | 364.1 | 14.9% |
| 2026 | 7,044 | 388.5 | 15.4% |
Over 4 decades the box fleet went from a sliver of world tonnage to 15.4% of it. Container ships held 10.3 million dwt in 1980, 1.5% of the fleet, and 63.6 million dwt in 2000, 8.0%. The 2026 figure of 388.5 million dwt is 6.1 times the 2000 level.
Container ship capacity, start of year
- 198010.3M dwt
- 199022.3M dwt
- 200063.6M dwt
- 2005100.2M dwt
- 2010169.2M dwt
- 2016244.3M dwt
- 2021282.3M dwt
- 2026388.5M dwt
Source: UNCTADstat, merchant fleet by flag and ship type (US.MerchantFleet), container ships, world
How many containers a container ship carries
Container capacity is counted in TEU, twenty-foot equivalent units: a standard 20-foot box is 1 TEU and a 40-foot box is 2. UNCTAD’s port call and performance statistics put the average container ship calling at a port in 2023 at 3,576 TEU, and the largest at 24,116 TEU and 237,000 gross tons. Ships of that 24,116 TEU size called at ports in China and Singapore; the largest to call at a US port that year carried 19,224 TEU.
Ships serving the US run bigger than the world average, at 5,691 TEU per container ship in 2023, 59% more. Container calls in Germany averaged 5,015 TEU, in China 4,561 and in Japan 1,614.
How much a cargo ship carries, by type
Port call data show the working fleet at the quay. In 2023 the average ship calling at a port could load 25,662 dwt, and the largest, a dry bulk carrier, 404,389 dwt. Dry bulk carriers also spend the longest alongside, a median of 2.13 days per call against 0.71 days for a container ship.
| Ship type (port calls, 2023) | Average capacity per ship | Largest seen in port | Median time in port (days) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dry bulk carriers | 58,623 dwt | 404,389 dwt | 2.13 |
| Liquid bulk carriers (tankers) | 28,406 dwt | 323,514 dwt | 0.99 |
| Liquefied natural gas carriers | 72,828 dwt | 155,159 dwt | 1.12 |
| Liquefied petroleum gas carriers | 12,303 dwt | 64,220 dwt | 1.04 |
| Dry breakbulk carriers | 7,799 dwt | 175,897 dwt | 1.08 |
| Roll-on/roll-off ships | 10,443 dwt | 55,828 dwt | not published |
| Container ships | 3,576 TEU (38,683 GT) | 24,116 TEU (237,000 GT) | 0.71 |
| All ships | 25,662 dwt | 404,389 dwt | 0.99 |
These averages differ from the ones in the type table above (58,623 dwt for a dry bulk carrier in port against 72,953 for a bulk carrier on the register) because the 2 series group ships differently and describe different things: one is the register at the start of 2026, the other the ships seen in port during 2023.
Where cargo ships are registered: the largest flags
Liberia is the largest flag by capacity, with 5,846 ships and 17.7% of world deadweight at the start of 2026. Together with Panama and the Marshall Islands, Liberia registers 44.0% of the world’s capacity.
| Flag | Ships | Capacity (million dwt) | Share of world capacity | Average age (years) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberia | 5,846 | 446.5 | 17.7% | 12.7 |
| Panama | 8,478 | 349.6 | 13.8% | 19.2 |
| Marshall Islands | 4,379 | 317.7 | 12.6% | 11.7 |
| Singapore | 3,477 | 186.0 | 7.4% | 11.3 |
| Hong Kong, China | 2,251 | 175.9 | 7.0% | 14.2 |
| China | 10,924 | 142.0 | 5.6% | 14.5 |
| Malta | 1,968 | 114.2 | 4.5% | 14.1 |
| Bahamas | 1,276 | 71.3 | 2.8% | 18.1 |
| Greece | 1,170 | 51.7 | 2.0% | 26.9 |
| Japan | 5,189 | 47.1 | 1.9% | 20.4 |
Counted by hulls, the order changes. Indonesia flags more ships than any other country, 14,618, but they average about 2,487 dwt and add up to 36.4 million dwt. China is second by count with 10,924. For container ships alone, Liberia registers 1,305 and 24.1% of container capacity, ahead of Singapore (881 ships, 16.6%) and Panama (761 ships, 10.7%).
The US-flag fleet
3,438 ships fly the US flag, 3.0% of the world’s ships and 0.53% of its capacity. Most sit in the other types group (3,194); the cargo categories add up to 105 general cargo ships, 76 oil tankers, 59 container ships and 4 bulk carriers. At 35.1 years on average, the US-flag fleet is 12.7 years older than the world’s, and its container fleet has edged down from 62 ships at the start of 2016 to 59.
How the fleet has grown since 2011
| Start of year | Ships | Capacity (million dwt) | Average age (years) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 83,282 | 1,418.4 | 20.4 |
| 2016 | 92,095 | 1,811.2 | 20.1 |
| 2021 | 102,172 | 2,138.8 | 21.3 |
| 2024 | 110,094 | 2,363.1 | 21.7 |
| 2025 | 112,782 | 2,443.6 | 22.1 |
| 2026 | 115,649 | 2,528.8 | 22.4 |
The world fleet added 32,367 ships between the start of 2011 and the start of 2026, up 38.9%, while its capacity grew 78.3%. Ships are getting bigger faster than they are multiplying: the average ship’s capacity rose from 17,031 dwt to 21,866 dwt over those 15 years. The fleet is also aging, with the average age by count up from 20.1 years in 2016 to 22.4 in 2026.
Cargo grew more slowly than the ships that carry it. UNCTAD records 12.05 billion tons of goods loaded in 2024, 3.9% more than in 2023 and 12.0% more than in 2016. From the start of 2016 to the start of 2025, fleet capacity grew 34.9%.
| Cargo loaded | 2016 (million tons) | 2024 (million tons) | Change | Share of 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry cargo | 6,674.3 | 7,726.8 | +15.8% | 64.1% |
| Other tanker trade | 2,029.1 | 2,284.7 | +12.6% | 19.0% |
| Crude oil | 2,056.4 | 2,042.6 | -0.7% | 16.9% |
| Total goods loaded | 10,759.8 | 12,054.1 | +12.0% | 100% |
Dry cargo, everything not carried in a tanker, made up 64.1% of 2024 tonnage, and crude oil loaded was slightly below its 2016 level. By our division of tons loaded by the average capacity afloat that year, the fleet carried about 5 times its own deadweight in 2024.
What the fleet count means for a brand shipping imports
For a brand that imports, the figure that counts is the 7,044 container ships, not the 115,649. Their capacity grew 9.7% during 2024 and 6.7% during 2025, while all seaborne cargo loaded grew 3.9% in 2024. A container fleet adding space faster than cargo gives the buyer room to negotiate: when a forwarder quotes a lane, ask for the contract rate and the current spot rate side by side, and ask how long the quote holds before you commit a quarter’s sailings to it.
Ship size shapes the receiving dock. Container ships calling at US ports averaged 5,691 TEU in 2023, 59% above the world average, so each arrival discharges a large batch of boxes at once, and the trucks, chassis and warehouse dock slots serving that terminal get booked in waves. Send the 3PL the container numbers, the vessel and its expected arrival before the ship berths, so the unload is on its schedule before your boxes are free to collect.
Time at the berth swings with congestion. The median container ship stayed 24.6 hours in US ports in 2019, 30.0 hours in 2021 and 33.6 hours in 2022, then fell back to 26.0 hours in 2023, still above the world median of 17.0 hours. That is the ship’s time alongside, not your container’s: a box can wait in the terminal for days after the ship sails, and every day before it reaches the warehouse is a day of stock you have paid for and cannot sell.
Median time in port for container ships at US ports
- 201824 hours
- 201924.6 hours
- 202024.8 hours
- 202130 hours
- 202233.6 hours
- 202326 hours
Source: UNCTADstat, port call and performance statistics (US.PortCalls), United States, container ships, days converted to hours
The route adds its own lead-time risk. Services between Asia and the US East Coast choose between the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal, and a restriction at either one adds sailing days to every box on board, so a brand selling from an East Coast warehouse needs a deeper safety stock than one receiving on the West Coast.
Insurance is the last piece. A single container ship carries boxes for many shippers at once, so a fire, a grounding or a storm that sends containers overboard reaches every cargo owner aboard. Before the first import, ask the forwarder what its cargo cover pays, at what value per shipment, and who files the claim.
Common questions
How many container ships are there in the world?
UNCTAD counted 7,044 container ships at the start of 2026, with 388.5 million dwt of capacity, 15.4% of the world fleet's total. That is 255 more than a year earlier and 967 more than at the start of 2023. Container capacity grew 6.7% during 2025, close to twice the 3.5% rate of the fleet as a whole.
What is the largest cargo ship in the world?
By containers, the largest ships seen in port in 2023 carried 24,116 TEU, according to UNCTAD's port call data. By weight carried, the largest was a dry bulk carrier of 404,389 dwt, and the largest liquid bulk carrier, or tanker, seen in port that year could load 323,514 dwt.
Which country has the most cargo ships?
It depends on the measure. By registered capacity, Liberia leads with 17.7% of world deadweight and 5,846 ships at the start of 2026, ahead of Panama and the Marshall Islands. By number of ships, Indonesia leads with 14,618, averaging about 2,487 dwt each, followed by China with 10,924.
How many cargo ships does the US have?
3,438 ships flew the US flag at the start of 2026, holding 0.53% of world carrying capacity. Of those, 59 are container ships, 76 oil tankers, 105 general cargo ships and 4 bulk carriers, and the other 3,194 sit in UNCTAD's catch-all group of other types. The US-flag fleet averages 35.1 years old, against 22.4 for the world.
How much cargo can a cargo ship carry?
The average bulk carrier on the world register can carry 72,953 dwt, a container ship 55,158 dwt and an oil tanker 52,850 dwt, by our division of UNCTAD's 2026 capacity by ship count. Measured in boxes, the average container ship calling at a port in 2023 had room for 3,576 TEU. A general cargo ship averages 4,238 dwt.
How old is the average cargo ship?
22.4 years at the start of 2026, counting each ship once. Bulk carriers are the youngest type at 12.9 years and container ships average 14.2, while oil tankers average 21.1 and general cargo ships 27.6. The fleet's average age has risen from 20.1 years in 2016.
How much cargo do ships carry each year?
12.05 billion tons of goods were loaded onto ships in 2024, by UNCTAD's count, 3.9% more than in 2023. Dry cargo made up 64.1%, crude oil 16.9% and other tanker cargo 19.0%. That tonnage is about 5 times the fleet's own deadweight, so its capacity is used about 5 times over in a year.
How long do cargo ships stay in port?
The median container ship call lasted 0.71 days, about 17 hours, worldwide in 2023, by UNCTAD's port call data. At US ports the median was 1.08 days, about 26 hours. Dry bulk carriers stay longest, a median of 2.13 days per call.
How we built this
We took fleet counts, capacity, gross tonnage, average ages and flags from UNCTADstat's merchant fleet series, which records the fleet at the start of each year (2011 to 2026, plus 1980 to 2010 for container capacity, in the file updated May 2026), ship sizes and times in port from its annual port call statistics for 2018 to 2023, and tons loaded from its seaborne trade series for 2016 to 2024. Every share, per-ship average, growth rate and conversion from days to hours is our arithmetic on those published figures, and each series is quoted for the period it covers rather than mixed with another year.