The global fleet continued to grow in 2017 even as markets remained challenging, albeit at a slower rate than during most of the last decade. Whilst overall fleet growth reached 3.3% in tonnage terms, up slightly from the previous year, there was significant variation in how quickly shipowners’ fleets expanded across different sectors and countries.
While fleet growth increased slightly in 2017 to 3.3%, it remained at a much lower level than in many recent years, with trends across sectors and owner countries varying significantly. Greek and Chinese owners continued to grow their fleets rapidly, in comparison to limited change in the Japanese owned fleet. With global fleet growth expected to slow further in the short-term, market watchers will be keeping an eye on whether these trends continue into 2018. Source: Clarkson Research Services Limited
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