Singapore has overtaken Hong Kong on the list of the world’s largest flag states, and the city-state’s ship register is now the world’s fourth largest with a total tonnage of 127.8 million gross tons spread across 4,230 ships.
For comparison, the Hong Kong Shipping Registry contains 2,162 ships, with a total tonnage of 120.6 million gross tons, recorded at the end of September. Hong Kong now occupies the list’s fifth place.
Singapore’s total tonnage rose from 108.7 million gross tons to 117.8 million gross tons during the first nine months of the year. Subsequently, in October alone, an additional 114 ships with a tonnage of 7.1 million gross tons were added – meaning the total tonnage is now up to 134.9 million gross tons.
Conversely, the trend has been the opposite in Hong Kong, where the register has fallen steadily from 132.2 million gross tons in January to 120.6 million in September. The figures for October have not yet been published here.
A significant reason for Singapore’s progress and Hong Kong’s decline is that Pacific Basin Shipping has reportedly moved about half of its dry bulk fleet to the Singapore flag, while also moving its headquarters to Singapore.
Liberia remains the world’s largest ship register, followed by Panama and the Marshall Islands.
-mauh
