China replaces Germany as world's largest container ship owner

In terms of total TEU, China has now replaced Germany as the largest country in the field of container shipping.

"The fact that China will surpass us in this regard is predictable: on the one hand, the simplest reason is that larger container ships are currently being built; on the other hand, this is to be expected after the long-term economic crisis of 2009. "Alfred Hartmann, Chairman of the German Shipowners Association (VDR).

In addition, the overall data of the German Shipowners Association shows that Germany is still the fifth largest shipping country in the world, accounting for 4.9% of the global maritime transport fleet, a decrease of 0.6 percentage points year-on-year.

As of the end of 2019, a total of 2140 ships were registered in Germany, with a total tonnage of 52.8 billion tons. Hartmann explained: "Although there are 184 ships and 4.7 million fewer than a year ago, it is still much higher than it was during the global shipping boom 20 years ago."

More than 43% of the German fleet has EU flags, especially Portugal, Cyprus and Malta. "I also see this as a commitment to Europe during times of stress in Europe," Hartmann said.

302 ships carried the German flag. Antigua, Barbuda and Liberia are recognized as "white flag" countries for safety and quality standards, and remain the largest flag nations in the German fleet.

Despite the reduction in the number of ships, the number of crew members subject to compulsory social security remained stable, totaling 8,265. "This is also reflected in crew training numbers," Hartmann said. The German Shipowners Association said that in 2019, 420 apprentices at sea joined and 249 were signed ashore, thus exceeding the number of crew employed in the previous year.

As far as the structure of German shipping companies is concerned, Germany is still characterized by many small and medium-sized enterprises. About 80% of German shipping companies operate fewer than 10 ships.

German shipping companies face huge challenges. They need to make their services profitable, and their returns must be about the same as they were 20 years ago.

"This is why Germany, as a business center, cannot impose new taxes on shipping companies to increase the burden, because this is a special burden that does not exist in the country, such as insurance premiums for ship insurance. This is particularly deadly. Gradually evolve to ship management services, "explains Ralf Nagel, CEO of the German Shipowners Association.

He believes that the current German shipping tax deduction measures should be maintained to protect the competitiveness of the German shipping industry. Not only that, it should also provide detailed adjustments and expansions.

Nagel added that the tonnage tax provided at all key shipping locations around the world should be updated in accordance with EU guidelines and directives. "We have implemented tonnage tax reductions in Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway to accommodate German offshore vessels and activities."

"German shipping companies are working to build more and more offshore wind farms, transporting the necessary materials and skilled personnel to operate and maintain them."