Deep Sea, Coastal, and Great Lakes Market Report 2026

The deep sea, coastal, and great lakes market size has grown steadily in recent years. It will grow from $579.4 billion in 2025 to $606.2 billion in 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.6%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to expansion of global seaborne trade, growth in port infrastructure development, increasing demand for bulk commodity transport, availability of large commercial fleets, rising international trade activities.

The deep sea, coastal, and great lakes market size is expected to see strong growth in the next few years. It will grow to $746.36 billion in 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.3%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to increasing investments in green shipping technologies, rising demand for autonomous vessel operations, expansion of coastal trade routes, growing focus on emission reduction regulations, increasing adoption of digital fleet monitoring solutions. Major trends in the forecast period include increasing adoption of fuel-efficient vessels, rising demand for large-capacity cargo ships, growing integration of smart navigation systems, expansion of coastal and short-sea shipping, enhanced focus on maritime safety and compliance.

The growing demand for energy is expected to drive the expansion of the deep sea, coastal, and Great Lakes water transportation market in the coming years. Energy demand represents the total amount of energy required to support industrial operations, transportation networks, and household needs within an economy. The rise in energy demand is fueled by economic growth and industrial expansion, as companies scale production and manufacturing activities to meet consumer needs, resulting in higher energy use for production processes, logistics, and global trade. Increasing energy demand heightens dependence on maritime transportation, as ships consume large volumes of fuel to move energy commodities such as liquefied natural gas, crude oil, and coal across international waters to satisfy global energy needs. For example, in July 2024, the International Energy Agency, an autonomous intergovernmental organization based in France, reported that global electricity demand is projected to grow by about 4% in 2024, compared with a 2.5% growth rate in 2023. Therefore, rising energy demand is contributing to the growth of the deep sea, coastal, and Great Lakes water transportation market.

The increasing demand for goods and commodities is expected to drive the growth of the deep sea, coastal, and Great Lakes transportation market in the future. Goods, which are tangible products produced or extracted for use or consumption, and commodities, which are basic goods interchangeable with others of the same type, require constant transportation. Deep sea, coastal, and Great Lakes transportation methods are crucial for moving a wide array of goods and commodities over long distances. For example, in November 2024, the Department for Business & Trade, a UK-based government agency, reported that the OECD projects the volume of the UK's exports of goods and services to grow by 0.6% in 2024, with a further 1.9% increase expected in 2025. As a result, the rising demand for goods and commodities is fueling the growth of the deep sea, coastal, and Great Lakes transportation market.

Major companies operating in the deep sea, coastal, and great lakes transportation industry are actively pursuing innovative, environmentally friendly, and sustainable shipping practices to ensure reliable services for their customers. These include the development of carbon-neutral ships, which are vessels designed to produce zero net greenhouse gas emissions. As an example of such efforts, in September 2023, Mærsk A/S, a Denmark-based shipping and logistics company, introduced the Laura, a container ship powered by bio-methanol. Laura is a compact version equipped with a dual-fuel engine capable of transporting 2,136 20-foot (TEU) containers. The adoption of such eco-friendly technology in the Laura results in a significant daily reduction of approximately 100 tons of CO2 emissions when compared to a similar ship operating on traditional fuel oil. This demonstrates the industry's commitment to sustainable and environmentally responsible transportation practices.

Major companies operating in the deep sea, coastal, and great lakes market are AP Moller - Maersk A/S, China Ocean Shipping Company Limited, Cargill Incorporated, CMA CGM S.A., Hapag-Lloyd AG, Evergreen Marine Corp, K-Line, Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. Ltd., Nippon Yusen, Kuehne + Nagel International AG, Mediterranean Shipping Company SA, Carnival Corporation, Seacor Holdings Inc., Crowley Maritime Corporation, Matson Inc., American President Lines Ltd., Maersk Line, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., Princess Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Holland America Line, MSC Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Silversea Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Oceania Cruises, Azamara Cruises, Viking Cruises, Hurtigruten.

Asia-Pacific was the largest region in the deep sea, coastal, and great lakes transportation market in 2025. Western Europe was the second largest region in the deep sea, coastal, and great lakes transportation market. The regions covered in the deep sea, coastal, and great lakes market report are Asia-Pacific, South East Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa. The countries covered in the deep sea, coastal, and great lakes market report are China, India, Japan, Australia, Indonesia, South Korea, Bangladesh, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, New Zealand, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Russia, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Iran, Turkey, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa.

The deep sea, coastal, and great lakes transportation market includes revenues earned by entities by providing transportation service for goods that are being delivered to short-distance destinations. 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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