Arab Ship Fleet Surges In 2010

The combined capacity of the ship fleet in the Arab countries surged by nearly 14.6 per cent in 2010 after a slow growth in the previous nine years to surpass 14 million tonnes, according to official Arab data. The surge last year was nearly double the 7.5 per cent growth in the world’s total fleet in 2010 although it was far below the global rate in the previous years, the Kuwaiti-based Inter-Arab Investment Guarantee Corporation (IAIGCC) said. During 2000-2009, the combined deadweight of the Arab fleet grew by only around 1.1 per cent, far below the 5.3 per cent global growth. “In 2010, the Arab fleet sharply rebounded, growing by 14.6 per cent to reach nearly 16.048 million tonnes at the end of the year,” said IAIGC, an affiliate of the Cairo-based Arab League. “The increase last year was a result of the delivery of new vessels to some Arab countries.”AL JABRIYAH II (Kuwait)The report said the sharp rise in 2010 boosted the Arab fleet’s share of the global fleet to 1.3 per cent at the end of the year from 1.2 per cent at the end of 2009. The share had plunged from 1.8 per cent in 2000 to 1.1 per cent in 2008. A breakdown showed Kuwait had the largest fleet in the Arab world at the end of 2010, with a capacity of 3.85 million tonnes. It was followed by Saudi Arabia, with 2.3 million tonnes and the UAE, Libya and Qatar, with 1.36 million tonnes each. The report also showed oil tankers dominated the Arab fleet, accounting for nearly 53.3 per cent of the total vessels at the end of 2010 and nearly 1.9 per cent of the world’s total fleet. Cargo ships accounted for 14 per cent of the Arab vessels while container ships amounted to about 10.3 per cent.