Shipping plays a strategic role in connecting Europe with the rest of the world. European shipping accounts for 34.5% of the global fleet. A new study by European Shipowners | ECSA, published on May 5, reveals that the European fleet continues to grow, with the highest annual growth rate recorded in 2025. However, while the European fleet is expanding, other fleets are growing at a faster pace.
While the European fleet has grown by 11% since 2018, the global fleet has expanded by approximately 30%, driven primarily by the fleets of Asian nations. This starkly underscores the fierce competition confronting European shipping and the critical need for a level playing field.
To ensure that European shipping continues to contribute to Europe’s energy and supply chains security, EU policymakers must actively champion the competitiveness of our industry.
The EU’s recently published European Industrial Maritime Strategy recognizes shipping’s strategic role. It treats the maritime sector as a vital geopolitical asset for European security and unequivocally rejects protectionist measures, opting instead for investment. This is the correct approach.
Safeguarding the international competitiveness of European shipping, open trade, and a fit-for-purpose regulatory and fiscal framework is crucial to ensuring that EU shipping companies remain competitive on a global scale.
Furthermore, the Strategy proposes utilizing national revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) to support the adoption of clean fuels and technologies, which represents a highly significant step forward. Our new study found that European shipping is spearheading the energy transition. European orders account for 44% of the global orderbook for vessels powered by sustainable fuels, demonstrating that European shipowners are investing heavily in the energy transition.
However, the availability of sustainable fuels remains insufficient, and Europe, in particular, is lagging behind. Asia currently leads in sustainable fuel production, accounting for 74% of the relevant fuel production projects globally. Europe trails significantly, at a mere 10%. Furthermore, out of the total sustainable fuel production within Europe, only 5% is earmarked for the shipping industry.
Shipping contributes €9 billion annually to EU ETS revenues. It is imperative that we urgently invest these funds in making clean maritime fuels available in Europe, boosting domestic production, and narrowing the price gap. This is not only critical for the energy transition; it is also a matter of energy security.
Still, we must not forget that shipping is an inherently international industry, which dictates the need for global regulations. Decarbonization cannot be achieved without a global framework that guarantees a level playing field at an international level. For this reason, European shipowners remain steadfastly committed to the IMO process. The EU should send a clear signal that its regional measures are transitional and that European legislation will be phased out once the IMO’s international measures are adopted.
The transition also presents a formidable challenge for the industry’s human capital. Approximately 800,000 seafarers worldwide will need to be reskilled or upskilled by the mid-2030s.
In Europe alone, 250,000 seafarers will require training over the decade ahead. To actively contribute to this dialogue, we launched the European Seafarers’ Skills Forum in 2025, a joint initiative of European Shipowners | ECSA and the European Transport Workers’ Federation. This initiative aims to bring together shipowners, seafarer representatives, maritime academies, and policymakers to address skills gaps and formulate strategic responses for the transition.
We firmly believe that the energy and digital transitions present a unique opportunity to make shipping more attractive to younger generations. With this in mind, we were particularly proud to have staged a competition for European school as part of the celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of ES | ECSA.
This competition aimed to boost the visibility of the maritime sector among young people by inviting schoolchildren aged 9 to 12 from across Europe to unleash their imagination and create artworks depicting what a ship might look like 60 years from now.
The competition was officially supported by the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the European Commission. We received over 400 entries from across Europe. The award was presented by the European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, and the Shipping Deputy Minister of Cyprus, Marina Hadjimanolis, at the Informal Transport, Telecommunications and Energy (TTE) Council meeting for Maritime Affairs Ministers held in Cyprus on April 29, 2026.
Ultimately, navigating all these challenges—from the energy transition and the skills agenda to mounting geopolitical pressures—requires the forging of robust alliances. Over the years, we have built strong partnerships with key industry stakeholders, establishing networks that amplify our collective voice. We have collaborated closely with other maritime industry associations, but we have also taken it a step further by forging new alliances with the aviation and fuel sectors. At its core, shipping is about building communities. Particularly in times of geopolitical uncertainty, we need all hands on deck to ensure a strong and resilient European maritime sector.
Mr. Sotiris Raptis is the Secretary General of European Shipowners | ECSA.
