RoRo

Overview

The RoRo segment is often counted together with General cargo 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.

Sources: UNCTAD calculations, based on data from Clarksons Research Shipping Intelligence Network, Review of Maritime Transport 2024 as of 01 January 2024 (109,000 ships over 100GT)
Global merchant fleet – number of ships by type | Statista (60,000 ships), 2023

Wind Propulsion Development & Forecasts

There are RoRo segment has seen quite robust growth for both retrofitting and newbuild installations of wind propulsion systems as the location of the wind propulsion systems can be configured and located away from the main activity areas when loading/unloading.
Wind Propulsion Installations
As of the end of Q3 2024, there were eight RoRo vessels in operation with 19 wind propulsion system units installed and equals 169,000gt.