How many vessels are there in the world? What are the main categories? How are they different from each other?
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I don’t know number of vessels but I can talk about cargo vessels type. There are 7 cargo vessels type. These are:
1-) Container Ships: These vessels are designed to carry standard 20′, 40′ and 45′ containers. Also Container ship is most common of sea transport.
2-) General Cargo Ships: These vessel are deisgned to carry package goods. Generaly has cranes to handle cargoes.
3-) Tankers: Tankers are seperated according to their purpose (product, oil, acid, chemical, lng, lpg etc.). But the general purpose is to transport gas or liquid cargo.
4-) Dry Bulk Carriers:They are structured specifically to transport solid non-packaged loose dry cargo in bulk quantities. Such carriers are then used for bagged cargo (cement, wheat, sugar…), palletized cargo (paints, chemicals…), but also for minerals (coal, iron ore…), food grains, timber … and other similar products.
5-) Passenger Ships: Passenger ships are used to transport passengers, as the name suggests.
6-) Offshore Ships: Mainly used for exploration, construction and reasarch but it has different types.
7-) Multi/Special Purpose Ships: Thanks to separate containers and storage systems, they can carry all kinds of goods (general cargo, liquid) together. They are often used on routes that require self-gearing vessels and where there are no shore handling facilities.
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According to UNCTAD STAT 2022, there are 102,899 ships:
- Oil tankers - 11,565
- Bulk carriers - 12,714
- General cargo - 20,112
- Container ships - 5,589
- Other types of ships - 52,919
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Hey @ali-gara, there must be somewhere around 100000 vessels in the world more than 1000 GRT. 3 main types are bulk, tanker, and container.
Bulk is generally for commodities like grain or rice.
Tanker is for chemical products
Container is for ready products mainly
There are approximately 50,000 to 60,000 cargo ships in the world. The exact number is constantly changing as new ships are built and old ones are decommissioned. Cargo ships can be categorized into several main types based on their design, size, and the kind of cargo they carry. Some of the main categories are:
- Bulk carriers: These ships are designed to transport large quantities of dry, unpackaged cargo, such as coal, grain, and iron ore. They are characterized by large, open holds and often have cranes or other loading equipment on board.
- Container ships: Container ships are specifically designed to carry standardized shipping containers. They have cellular holds and are equipped with cranes and other equipment to facilitate the loading and unloading of containers. Containers can be easily transferred between ships, trucks, and trains, making container ships a key component of global trade.
- General cargo ships: General cargo ships are versatile vessels that can carry a wide variety of cargo, including palletized goods
As some have already pointed out, the exact number of vessels change all the time. But roughly speaking, the are around 100,000 vessels globally which includes bulk carriers, tankers, container ships, and other types of cargo and passenger vessels (these do not include smaller specialty vessels, fishing vessels, yachts and other recreational boats, and military fleets). If you want to narrow it down and focus on large ocean dwelling vessels that constitute the core of the global merchant fleet, then this number is between 50,000 – 60,000 vessels.
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There are around 100,000 vessels if I’m not mistaken. The 3 main vessel types are containers, bulk, and tankers.
Bulk is for commodities like grain and rice.
Tanker is for chemical products like oil and gas
Containers generally for ready products
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@aydin-mammadov , with these numbers, it is safe to assume that at least a few vessels are completed and launched every day, thousands more under construction or on order. 
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