Ship Leasing Market Report 2025

The ship leasing market size has grown rapidly in recent years. It will grow from $13.98 billion in 2024 to $16.08 billion in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.1%. The expansion during the historic period is due to the increasing demand for specialized vessels, heightened interest in time-charter and bareboat options, greater investment in maritime infrastructure, the growing involvement of international ship leasing companies, and the rising adoption of digital fleet management solutions.

The ship leasing market size is expected to see rapid growth in the next few years. It will grow to $27.84 billion in 2029 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.7%. The projected growth during the forecast period is driven by increasing demand for global shipping capacity, expanding trade volumes in emerging economies, greater adoption of flexible fleet solutions, a stronger preference for capital-efficient leasing instead of purchasing, and a rising need for modern, fuel-efficient vessels. Key trends expected in this period include improvements in fuel-efficient ship designs, technology-enhanced fleet management systems, incorporation of digital monitoring technologies, progress in autonomous vessel technology, and advancements in environmentally friendly propulsion systems.

The increase in maritime trade volumes is expected to drive the expansion of the ship leasing market in the future. Maritime trade volumes represent the total amount of goods or cargo transported by sea within a given timeframe. The growth in these volumes stems from rising consumer demand for a variety of products, compelling countries to engage in import and export activities beyond their domestic production limits. Ship leasing facilitates this growth by offering flexible access to fleets, allowing shipping companies to scale their operations without the need for substantial upfront investments. This flexibility improves global trade efficiency by ensuring vessel availability aligns with fluctuating demand, thereby enhancing supply chain reliability. For example, in 2024, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, a Switzerland-based intergovernmental organization, reported that global maritime trade increased by 2.4% to reach 12.3 billion tons in 2023, recovering from the decline experienced in 2022. Furthermore, it is expected to grow by 2% in 2024 and maintain an average annual growth rate of 2.4% through 2029. Hence, the rising maritime trade volumes are a key factor propelling the growth of the ship leasing market.

Leading companies in the ship leasing industry are prioritizing the establishment of leasing units to support structured ship financing, utilize tax and regulatory benefits, enable foreign currency transactions, and offer clients flexible fleet capacity while minimizing upfront capital expenditures. For instance, in April 2025, Reliance Industries Limited, a conglomerate based in India, launched a ship leasing unit at the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) located in GIFT City, Gujarat. This move aims to strengthen its involvement in maritime financing and global trade services. The initiative offers significant advantages, including a unified regulatory environment, attractive tax benefits such as a 100% profit-linked tax holiday for up to 10 years, and exemptions from various charges such as GST and withholding tax on lease payments. Additionally, the arrangement grants a deemed foreign jurisdiction status, facilitating better access to international markets and foreign currency funding at competitive rates. The framework is intended to bolster India’s maritime sector by attracting ship leasing activities that have traditionally been centered in overseas hubs, thereby stimulating growth, investment, and global trade.

In August 2025, Donald Smith & Co. Inc., an investment management firm based in the US, acquired Global Ship Lease Inc. for an undisclosed sum. Through this acquisition, Donald Smith plans to strategically invest in Global Ship Lease to leverage its strong operational performance, promising growth potential, and solid standing within the container shipping sector. This move aims to enhance the company’s portfolio value via a deep-value investment strategy. Global Ship Lease Inc., headquartered in the UK, provides ship leasing services.

Major players in the ship leasing market are Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., Macquarie Group, Triton International Limited, Atlas Corp, Navios Maritime Partners L.P., Costamare Inc., Textainer Group, Hamburg Commercial Bank AG, CSSC (Hong Kong) Shipping Company Limited, Euroseas Ltd., Ocean Yield ASA, Sumitomo Mitsui Finance & Leasing Co. Ltd., Seaco Global Limited, Minsheng Financial Leasing Co. Ltd., Avic Leasing Co. Ltd., Zodiac Maritime Ltd., Eastern Pacific Shipping Pte. Ltd., ICBC Financial Leasing Co. Ltd., Seaspan Corporation, FSL Holdings Inc., CAI International Inc., and Maritime Partners LLC.

North America was the largest region in the ship leasing market in 2024. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in ship leasing report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa. The countries covered in the ship leasing market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain.

Note that the outlook for this market is being affected by rapid changes in trade relations and tariffs globally. The report will be updated prior to delivery to reflect the latest status, including revised forecasts and quantified impact analysis. The report’s Recommendations and Conclusions sections will be updated to give strategies for entities dealing with the fast-moving international environment.

The swift increase in U.S. tariffs and the ensuing trade tensions in spring 2025 are significantly affecting the transport services sector by driving up costs for vehicles, spare parts, and fuel, key inputs often sourced from tariff-affected regions. Freight operators, logistics providers, and public transportation systems are facing squeezed profit margins as higher equipment and maintenance costs coincide with limited ability to pass on these expenses to customers due to competitive pressures. The uncertainty has also delayed fleet modernization and the adoption of greener, more efficient vehicles, slowing progress toward sustainability goals. To adapt, transport firms are optimizing route planning, investing in fuel efficiency technologies, renegotiating supplier contracts, and exploring collaborative logistics models to share costs and mitigate the impact of higher tariffs.

Ship leasing is a financial setup where a shipowner (lessor) rents a vessel to another party (lessee) for a set duration in exchange for regular payments. This arrangement enables shipping companies or operators to use ships without having to invest heavily in purchasing them upfront, providing flexibility for fleet growth and managing risks.

The primary forms of ship leasing include bareboat charter, real-time lease, periodic tenancy, among others. In a bareboat charter, the charterer gains full control over the vessel, including its crew and operations, while the owner supplies only the ship. This category encompasses various lease types such as financial leases and full-service leases, and applies to different vessel types such as bulk carriers, tankers, container ships, offshore support vessels, roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) ships, passenger ships, and specialized vessels. It is commonly used for container ships and bulk carriers and supports industries including oil and gas, manufacturing, automotive, agriculture and food, retail, and consumer goods.

The Ship Leasing market research report is one of a series of new reports that provides Ship Leasing market statistics, including Ship Leasing industry global market size, regional shares, competitors with a Ship Leasing market share, detailed Ship Leasing market segments, market trends and opportunities, and any further data you may need to thrive in the Ship Leasing industry. This ship leasing market research report delivers a complete perspective of everything you need, with an in-depth analysis of the current and future scenario of the industry.

The ship leasing market includes revenues earned by entities through time chartering, bareboat chartering, and voyage chartering. The market value includes the value of related goods sold by the service provider or included within the service offering. Only goods and services traded between entities or sold to end consumers are included.

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD unless otherwise specified).

The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

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