Ship Leasing Market Report 2026

The ship leasing market size has grown rapidly in recent years. It will grow from $16.08 billion in 2025 to $18.48 billion in 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.9%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to expansion of global maritime trade, cyclical volatility in shipping demand, high capital costs of vessel ownership, growth of containerized shipping, increasing reliance on chartered vessels.

The ship leasing market size is expected to see rapid growth in the next few years. It will grow to $31.86 billion in 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.6%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to rising adoption of low-emission shipping fleets, growing investments in smart vessel monitoring, expansion of LNG and alternative fuel vessels, increasing focus on financial risk management, rising demand for flexible charter structures. Major trends in the forecast period include increasing preference for flexible fleet expansion models, rising demand for short-term vessel leasing, growing adoption of data-driven fleet management, expansion of green and fuel-efficient vessels, enhanced focus on asset-light shipping strategies.

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 companies operating 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., Maritime Partners LLC.

North America was the largest region in the ship leasing market in 2025. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in the ship leasing market report are Asia-Pacific, South East Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa. The countries covered in the ship leasing market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain.

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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