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Merchant fleet hits 100,000-ship milestone
This month the global merchant fleet of vessels above 100 gt has reached the 100,000-ship milestone for the first time, according to data from Clarksons Research.
Across 100,001 ships in total, the average size of a vessel is 21,355 dwt, and the average age is 21.7 years.
The estimated total value of the world fleet is $976bn across 2.1bn dwt and 1.4bn gt. Asian owners account for 46% of the deadweight, with European owners controlling 30% of the fleet.
Shipping crossed the 70,000 mark in February 2006, 15 years ago almost to the day. The average vessel size has increased by 57% since then.