General Cargo Ship Fleet by Country (2026)

The general cargo ship fleet measures the dead weight tonnage of general cargo ships registered under a country's flag, expressed in thousands of tons. It reflects the scale of general cargo ship capacity registered under each country's flag, with both major national fleets and open-registry fleets represented. The statistics are based on the UNCTADstat database. The dataset covers 196 countries and territories, and the table below lists 167 of them that record any general cargo tonnage in the period; their combined general cargo ship fleet stood at 90,668 thousand dwt in 2026.

Countries With the Largest General Cargo Ship Fleet in 2026

China recorded the largest general cargo ship fleet in 2026 at 11,151 thousand dwt. Panama followed with 10,509, ahead of Indonesia (5,477), the Netherlands (4,291), and Russia (4,170). Antigua and Barbuda (3,758), Liberia (3,433), Japan (3,202), Portugal (2,681), and Vietnam (2,641) complete the top ten, with Hong Kong (2,629) and the United States (2,281) just outside it.

General Cargo Ship Fleet by Country (2026)

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#	Country	Country (thousand dwt)
1	Panama PA	8,355
2	China CN	7,810
3	Indonesia ID	4,657
4	Netherlands NL	4,355
5	Russia RU	3,678
6	Antigua and Barbuda AG	3,385
7	Japan JP	3,137
8	Vietnam VN	2,911
9	Hong Kong HK	2,677
10	United States US	2,126
11	Malta MT	2,113
12	Liberia LR	2024
13	Philippines PH	1896
14	Italy IT	1560
15	Singapore SG	1441
16	South Korea KR	1336
17	Cyprus CY	1333
18	Belize BZ	1324
19	India IN	1323
20	Canada CA	1135
21	Türkiye TR	1084
22	Portugal PT	1070
23	Togo TG	988
24	Marshall Islands MH	946
25	Sierra Leone SL	874
26	Iran IR	770
27	North Korea KP	724
28	Norway NO	710
29	Barbados BB	488
30	Comoros KM	464
31	Palau PW	455
32	United Kingdom GB	429
33	Tanzania TZ	409
34	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines VC	408
35	Finland FI	402
36	Thailand TH	353
37	Bangladesh BD	343
38	Denmark DK	342
39	Moldova MD	312
40	Gibraltar GI	299
41	Mongolia MN	284
42	Cambodia KH	274
43	Bahamas BS	270
44	Ethiopia ET	254
45	Honduras HN	249
46	Germany DE	247
47	Malaysia MY	247
48	Cook Islands CK	212
49	Isle of Man IM	202
50	Ukraine UA	199
51	United Arab Emirates AE	198
52	Vanuatu VU	195
53	Saudi Arabia SA	190
54	Faroe Islands FO	182
55	Greece GR	174
56	Azerbaijan AZ	165
57	Spain ES	164
58	Saint Kitts and Nevis KN	155
59	Ireland IE	153
60	Sweden SE	146
61	Myanmar MM	141
62	Papua New Guinea PG	136
63	Taiwan TW	133
64	Australia AU	115
65	Lebanon LB	110
66	Luxembourg LU	110
67	Venezuela VE	108
68	Algeria DZ	106
69	Chile CL	106
70	Egypt EG	106
71	Niue NU	102
72	Lithuania LT	99
73	Bolivia BO	96
74	Cameroon CM	94
75	Brazil BR	86
76	Dominica DM	84
77	Kiribati KI	84
78	Belgium BE	83
79	France FR	79
80	Jordan JO	71
81	Tuvalu TV	65
82	Latvia LV	62
83	Mexico MX	59
84	Syria SY	54
85	Paraguay PY	51
86	Kuwait KW	50
87	Jamaica JM	48
88	Fiji FJ	47
89	Albania AL	44
90	Bahrain BH	43
91	Bulgaria BG	42
92	Gabon GA	42
93	Colombia CO	38
94	Nigeria NG	34
95	Tunisia TN	34
96	Sri Lanka LK	30
97	Micronesia FM	28
98	New Zealand NZ	24
99	Guyana GY	23
100	Maldives MV	23
101	Curaçao CW	21
102	Ecuador EC	21
103	Sao Tome and Principe ST	21
104	Cape Verde CV	18
105	Kazakhstan KZ	18
106	Switzerland CH	18
107	French Polynesia PF	15
108	Turkmenistan TM	15
109	Cuba CU	14
110	Poland PL	14
111	Angola AO	13
112	DR Congo CD	13
113	Eswatini SZ	13
114	Israel IL	13
115	Ghana GH	12
116	Tonga TO	12
117	Uruguay UY	12
118	Botswana BW	11
119	Croatia HR	11
120	Mozambique MZ	11
121	Argentina AR	10
122	Brunei BN	10
123	Equatorial Guinea GQ	10
124	Eritrea ER	10
125	Romania RO	10
126	British Virgin Islands VG	9
127	New Caledonia NC	9
128	Senegal SN	9
129	Madagascar MG	7
130	Peru PE	5
131	Qatar QA	5
132	Djibouti DJ	4
133	Morocco MA	4
134	Oman OM	4
135	Seychelles SC	4
136	Solomon Islands SB	4
137	Congo CG	3
138	Suriname SR	3
139	Cayman Islands KY	2
140	Estonia EE	2
141	Georgia GE	2
142	Iceland IS	2
143	Laos LA	2
144	Samoa WS	2
145	Yemen YE	2
146	Dominican Republic DO	1
147	Falkland Islands FK	1
148	Grenada GD	1
149	Guinea-Bissau GW	1
150	Haiti HT	1
151	Iraq IQ	1
152	Libya LY	1
153	Mauritania MR	1
154	Namibia NA	1
155	Nicaragua NI	1
156	Niger NE	1
157	Trinidad and Tobago TT	1
158	US Virgin Islands VI	1
159	Zambia ZM	1
160	Benin BJ	0
161	Gambia GM	0
162	Guinea GN	0
163	Mauritius MU	0
164	Nauru NR	0
165	North Macedonia MK	0
166	San Marino SM	0
167	Slovenia SI	0

The general cargo ship fleet is less concentrated than other merchant fleets, since many countries maintain small coastal and short-sea fleets. China accounts for about 12 percent of the tonnage in the table, and the top five countries together account for about 39 percent. Among the 167 countries listed, 13 record a general cargo ship fleet above 2,000 thousand dwt, while 9 report a nil fleet for 2026.

General Cargo Ship Fleet Around the World

In Asia, China (11,151) records the largest general cargo ship fleet, followed by Indonesia (5,477), Japan (3,202), Vietnam (2,641), and the Philippines (2,261). Singapore (1,552), India (1,463), South Korea (1,298), and Bangladesh (521) follow.

In Europe, the Netherlands (4,291) and Russia (4,170) hold the largest general cargo ship fleets, ahead of Portugal (2,681), Italy (1,469), Malta (1,388), and Cyprus (1,369). Norway (951) and Türkiye (813) follow, while Germany (185), the United Kingdom (185), and Greece (163) record small fleets.

In the Americas, Panama (10,509) holds the largest general cargo ship fleet, followed by the United States (2,281) and Canada (1,144). The Bahamas (446) is the next largest, while most other American registries record small tonnage.

In Africa, Liberia (3,433) records the largest general cargo ship fleet, with Tanzania (858) the only other African registry above 500 thousand dwt; most African countries maintain small or negligible fleets. In the Middle East, Iran (886) records the largest fleet, ahead of Saudi Arabia (244).

In Oceania, the Marshall Islands (1,437) records the largest general cargo ship fleet, followed by Palau (1,023), Vanuatu (320), and Papua New Guinea (158). Australia (111) and New Zealand (25) record small fleets.

Largest Changes in General Cargo Ship Fleet, 2021–2026

China recorded the largest increase between 2021 and 2026, rising from 7,810 to 11,151 thousand dwt (up 3,341). Panama grew from 8,355 to 10,509 (up 2,154), Portugal from 1,070 to 2,681 (up 1,611), and Liberia from 2,024 to 3,433 (up 1,409). Indonesia added 820, Russia 492, and the Marshall Islands 491.

Malta recorded the largest decline, down 725 to 1,388 thousand dwt, followed by Türkiye (down 271) and Vietnam (down 270). The United Kingdom declined by 244.

General Cargo Ship Fleet by Country (2026)

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#	Country	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026
1	Panama	8,355	8,791	9,273	9,654	10,141	10,509
2	China	7,810	9,061	10,744	12,389	11,510	11,151
3	Indonesia	4,657	4,656	4,747	4,959	5,182	5,477
4	Netherlands	4,355	4,246	4,180	4,197	4,274	4,291
5	Russia	3,678	4,095	4,101	4,077	4,153	4,170
6	Antigua and Barbuda	3,385	3,360	3,323	3,324	3,412	3,758
7	Japan	3,137	3,132	3,144	3,141	3,147	3,202
8	Vietnam	2,911	2,889	2,800	2,630	2,614	2,641
9	Hong Kong	2,677	2,394	2,462	2,250	2,139	2,629
10	United States	2,126	2045	2092	2,216	2,269	2,281
11	Malta	2,113	1974	1650	1524	1399	1388
12	Liberia	2024	2033	2,509	2,716	3,146	3,433
13	Philippines	1896	1909	2023	2084	2,194	2,261
14	Italy	1560	1563	1590	1493	1510	1469
15	Singapore	1441	1135	1235	1254	1404	1552
16	South Korea	1336	1340	1376	1301	1244	1298
17	Cyprus	1333	1420	1516	1398	1381	1369
18	Belize	1324	1312	1305	1412	1224	867
19	India	1323	1357	1410	1410	1439	1463
20	Canada	1135	1124	1203	1191	1108	1144
21	Türkiye	1084	924	844	821	863	813
22	Portugal	1070	1434	1611	2021	2,199	2,681
23	Togo	988	933	933	759	701	664
24	Marshall Islands	946	907	1056	1247	1418	1437
25	Sierra Leone	874	909	1012	974	1022	944
26	Iran	770	774	783	816	827	886
27	North Korea	724	733	775	767	787	787
28	Norway	710	898	933	1108	1135	951
29	Barbados	488	549	712	892	1089	1016
30	Comoros	464	421	529	624	753	893
31	Palau	455	594	947	1162	1129	1023
32	United Kingdom	429	364	327	270	203	185
33	Tanzania	409	363	447	621	840	858
34	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	408	411	353	297	273	268
35	Finland	402	411	416	439	404	399
36	Thailand	353	335	317	313	311	306
37	Bangladesh	343	385	453	512	518	521
38	Denmark	342	355	349	320	306	308
39	Moldova	312	248	74	40	40	40
40	Gibraltar	299	175	150	96	87	85
41	Mongolia	284	334	350	445	415	404
42	Cambodia	274	281	247	220	220	220
43	Bahamas	270	276	205	371	355	446
44	Ethiopia	254	254	254	254	254	254
45	Honduras	249	258	254	238	242	246
46	Germany	247	227	227	192	199	185
47	Malaysia	247	250	235	242	239	237
48	Cook Islands	212	175	103	71	57	54
49	Isle of Man	202	188	193	178	148	165
50	Ukraine	199	196	194	168	141	139
51	United Arab Emirates	198	203	208	227	217	241
52	Vanuatu	195	305	373	341	308	320
53	Saudi Arabia	190	190	185	184	218	244
54	Faroe Islands	182	145	152	158	150	148
55	Greece	174	159	153	141	166	163
56	Azerbaijan	165	165	163	155	153	153
57	Spain	164	157	142	78	99	84
58	Saint Kitts and Nevis	155	244	364	495	913	1021
59	Ireland	153	147	144	156	178	173
60	Sweden	146	140	182	183	179	181
61	Myanmar	141	148	151	135	135	135
62	Papua New Guinea	136	130	147	149	157	158
63	Taiwan	133	135	133	138	143	143
64	Australia	115	105	106	112	123	111
65	Lebanon	110	106	94	89	84	92
66	Luxembourg	110	150	141	131	118	57
67	Venezuela	108	101	118	104	104	104
68	Algeria	106	106	106	106	106	106
69	Chile	106	90	99	101	96	90
70	Egypt	106	106	78	59	71	71
71	Niue	102	98	136	126	118	109
72	Lithuania	99	88	69	73	79	70
73	Bolivia	96	97	89	94	91	121
74	Cameroon	94	127	257	444	309	335
75	Brazil	86	83	83	63	63	63
76	Dominica	84	94	51	36	36	52
77	Kiribati	84	73	60	42	42	64
78	Belgium	83	65	62	49	50	58
79	France	79	78	84	88	90	98
80	Jordan	71	71	71	76	66	71
81	Tuvalu	65	93	85	93	95	188
82	Latvia	62	90	98	114	120	135
83	Mexico	59	54	52	70	73	77
84	Syria	54	24	25	15	3	3
85	Paraguay	51	46	43	42	45	45
86	Kuwait	50	50	55	56	55	55
87	Jamaica	48	54	65	54	59	55
88	Fiji	47	47	43	43	47	47
89	Albania	44	44	41	22	21	21
90	Bahrain	43	27	27	27	25	25
91	Bulgaria	42	42	38	38	25	34
92	Gabon	42	46	38	48	79	73
93	Colombia	38	38	39	37	38	38
94	Nigeria	34	38	43	43	46	52
95	Tunisia	34	34	34	34	34	34
96	Sri Lanka	30	30	25	20	20	20
97	Micronesia	28	27	16	23	16	8
98	New Zealand	24	24	26	25	25	25
99	Guyana	23	104	64	50	46	43
100	Maldives	23	33	36	35	35	35
101	Curaçao	21	11	2	2	15	13
102	Ecuador	21	17	17	17	21	26
103	Sao Tome and Principe	21	27	39	57	122	180
104	Cape Verde	18	18	17	13	13	11
105	Kazakhstan	18	18	18	25	33	33
106	Switzerland	18	18	18	3	3	0
107	French Polynesia	15	15	16	16	20	22
108	Turkmenistan	15	15	17	15	17	17
109	Cuba	14	14	14	14	18	14
110	Poland	14	14	14	14	14	14
111	Angola	13	13	13	13	15	15
112	DR Congo	13	19	11	10	7	7
113	Eswatini	-	-	-	-	13	15
114	Israel	13	13	0	0	0	0
115	Ghana	12	12	14	14	14	14
116	Tonga	12	13	6	6	6	6
117	Uruguay	12	12	8	5	5	5
118	Botswana	-	-	-	-	-	11
119	Croatia	11	13	13	10	11	11
120	Mozambique	11	11	11	11	11	11
121	Argentina	10	10	10	10	10	10
122	Brunei	10	10	10	9	9	9
123	Equatorial Guinea	10	19	24	19	9	9
124	Eritrea	10	10	10	10	10	10
125	Romania	10	10	10	10	10	10
126	British Virgin Islands	9	9	9	9	9	9
127	New Caledonia	9	9	7	5	5	5
128	Senegal	9	9	8	8	8	8
129	Madagascar	7	7	9	7	7	8
130	Peru	5	5	0	0	0	0
131	Qatar	5	5	5	5	5	5
132	Djibouti	4	3	3	3	3	3
133	Morocco	4	4	4	4	4	4
134	Oman	4	4	4	4	3	4
135	Seychelles	4	4	5	5	6	6
136	Solomon Islands	4	3	5	11	13	13
137	Congo	3	3	0	0	0	0
138	Suriname	3	3	3	3	3	3
139	Cayman Islands	2	2	3	3	3	3
140	Estonia	2	2	3	2	1	1
141	Georgia	2	2	2	2	10	10
142	Iceland	2	2	2	1	1	1
143	Laos	2	2	2	2	2	2
144	Samoa	2	3	3	3	3	3
145	Yemen	2	2	2	2	2	2
146	Dominican Republic	1	1	0	0	0	0
147	Falkland Islands	1	1	1	1	1	1
148	Grenada	1	1	0	0	10	10
149	Guinea-Bissau	1	1	27	109	172	273
150	Haiti	1	1	1	1	1	1
151	Iraq	1	1	1	1	1	1
152	Libya	1	1	1	0	0	0
153	Mauritania	1	1	1	1	4	1
154	Namibia	1	1	1	1	1	1
155	Nicaragua	1	1	1	1	1	1
156	Niger	1	1	0	0	0	0
157	Trinidad and Tobago	1	1	1	1	1	1
158	US Virgin Islands	1	1	1	1	1	1
159	Zambia	1	1	1	1	1	1
160	Benin	0	0	0	0	0	1
161	Gambia	0	2	13	12	16	59
162	Guinea	0	2	0	0	0	4
163	Mauritius	0	0	0	2	2	0
164	Nauru	0	0	1	0	0	32
165	North Macedonia	-	-	-	0	8	3
166	San Marino	-	0	0	5	32	97
167	Slovenia	0	1	0	0	0	0

Methodology

The statistics are based on the UNCTADstat database, indicator General cargo ships, which measures the dead weight tonnage of general cargo ships registered under each country's flag in thousand tons, as part of the merchant fleet statistics. Values refer to the beginning of each year. The main comparison uses 2026 data where available, and the latest available year for countries without a 2026 observation. Countries with no general cargo tonnage in any year of the period are excluded from the table. In the table, a zero reflects a nil or negligible fleet, while an empty cell means that no value was reported; the two are never mixed up in the calculations.