Denmark advances on the List of the World’s Largest Maritime Nations
COPENHAGEN : Denmark maintains its position among the world’s ten largest maritime nations. Denmark has overtaken Germany and is now ranked 9th on the list.
Denmark maintains its strong position in the top ten of the world’s largest maritime nations. This is documented in a new report from Danish Shipping. Denmark has made progress in both operated tonnage and the number of ships under the Danish flag.
“These figures clearly show, once again, that shipping is a significant Danish strength. Particularly in geopolitically turbulent times like these, it is a strategically important asset for Denmark – and Europe – to have substantial transport capacity in the form of a strong Danish-flagged merchant fleet,” says Anne H. Steffensen, CEO of Danish Shipping.
These figures clearly show, once again, that shipping is a significant Danish strength. The total amount of Danish-operated tonnage has increased by 2.2 million tons since the last report in June 2024, reaching 60.5 million tons. In terms of the number of ships, there has been a modest increase, with 740 ships now flying the Danish flag – one more than the previous report.
“Denmark’s status as one of the world’s largest maritime nations is, of course, due to the skilled and innovative shipping companies that constantly work to refine their products and develop Danish shipping. But it is also thanks to favorable framework conditions for Danish shipping, which enjoy broad political support. This is crucial because competition on the global market is fierce. I am very much looking forward to the recommendations from the Growth Team for Blue Denmark, which will be released later this spring. These recommendations will help ensure that Denmark continues to have the framework conditions necessary to remain one of the world’s leading green maritime nations – even 10 or 20 years from now,” says Anne H. Steffensen.
Facts:
The figures in this article are sourced from the S&P Maritime Portal in January 2025.
Operated tonnage: Tonnage is a technical term for weight and volume units used as the basis for calculating a vessel’s cargo capacity. “Operated tonnage” refers to the total cargo capacity of the vessels operated from Denmark (or controlled from shipping offices in Denmark).
Ships under the Danish flag: Ships under the Danish flag fly the Dannebrog and are registered either in the Danish Ship Register (DAS) or the Danish International Ship Register (DIS).