General Cargo

Overview

The General Cargo segment is often counted together with RoRo vessels and collectively these make up the largest segment of the fleet with 18,350 ships but far smaller when calculated in terms of deadweight tonnage, standing at just over 84, 0471,000 dwt or 3.6% of the total tonnage of the fleet.

Out of the 1,665 newbuild vessels delivered in 2023, general cargo only accounted for just over 2%. The general cargo and RoRo fleet is a far older segment that others, with over 70% of the fleet over 15 years old and scrappage rates are also quite low around 4% of the total in 2023.

Source: UNCTAD calculations, based on data from Clarksons Research Shipping Intelligence Network, Review of Maritime Transport 2024 as of 01 January 2024
Global merchant fleet – number of ships by type | Statista (60,000 ships), 2023

Wind Propulsion Development & Forecasts

The General cargo segment has seen quite robust growth for both retrofitting and newbuild installations of wind propulsion systems and this segment includes three small primary wind propulsion vessels (as of Q3, 2024) with a further seven on order of awaiting rig installation. As of the end of Q3 2024, there were 11 General cargo vessels in operation with 19 wind propulsion system units installed and with a total of 35,495 dwt.