Marine Insurance and Merchant Shipping

October 12, 2023 Insurancepe

The seas have been a crucial means of trade since times immemorial, hence it would be no surprise that insurance, in one of its earliest forms, originated as marine insurance.

Merchant shipping continues to be the lifeline of international trade and the world’s massive fleet of merchant shipping is made up of many different types of vessels based on their tonnage and purpose.

These vessels can broadly be grouped as: general cargo ships, container ships, barge carriers, bulk carriers, oil tankers and chemical tankers. Sea freight is the main means of transporting raw materials (oil, coal, grain, etc.).

Sea freight accounts for 90% of international merchandise trade. At the end of March 2022, over 57 000 merchant ships were sailing around the world. Over 50% of them carry oil and related products.

According to the International Underwriting Association (IUA), the world’s merchant fleet of ships as of March 2022 is as follows:

*Vessel Type*	*Number*
Oil tankers	2 206
Tanker ships	9 809
Chemical carriers	3 991
Bulk carriers	12 766
LPG carriers	1 532
LNG carriers	685
Container ships	5 606
Multipurpose freighters	3 188
General cargo ships	16 112
RoRo ships	1 586
Total cargo ships	57 481
Offshore vessels	8 926
Services	2 112
Tugs	21 288
Passenger ships	8 938
Other non-cargo vessels	4 259
Total	45 523