New number one in global ship registry
There has been a shift in the head-to-head competition of global ship registries. According to the latest data from Clarksons Research, Panama has lost its top position for the first time in 30 years. Liberia now holds the title of the world's largest ship registry in terms of gross tonnage.
Analysts report that ships with a capacity of 2.2 million gross tonnes are now sailing under the Liberian flag, which has seen a 5.6% growth in its fleet in 2023. While Panama still leads in the number of registered ships with over 3,200 more than Liberia, the latter boasts around 5,600 vessels.
Liberia's Registry headquarters is located near Washington DC in Dulles, Virginia. Within the list of the top 30 flags, Clarksons notes that Malta and Cyprus have seen the least growth in their ship registries this year, while Germany's maritime register leads in fleet growth measured by gross tonnage increase after a decade of declines. (pb)