Global shipping: Challenges ahead
As on January 1, 2005, the world trading fleet was made up of 46,222 ships, with a combined 597,709,000 gross tonnes. The vast bulk of the fleet was made up of: general cargo ships (18,150), tankers (11,356), bulk carriers (6,139), passenger ships (5,679) and container ships (3,165). Other ship types accounted for 1,733 vessels.