When it comes to enabling the transportation of commodities and goods across seas, the Merchant Marine fleet serves as an essential lifeline. The need for a strong merchant marine fleet is crucial in Africa, where economic development and prosperity are of utmost importance.
According to Global Firepower, a platform that annually updates statistics of militaries across the globe, “the merchant marine of a nation is a force of ships operating under civilian banners in peace times, and in times of war, commissioned by the naval branch of service to augment the main surface fighting force.”
As a result, evaluating a country’s whole naval force requires consideration of the size of its merchant marine. While some African countries boast a sizable Merchant fleet others are not as fortunate.
Owing to a lack of access to the seas or oceans some countries in the region that are landlocked do not need a padded navy or a maritime industry.
With that said, below are the 10 African countries with the smallest merchant fleets, according to the Global Firepower Index.
Rank | Country | Merchant marine fleet strength | Global rank |
---|---|---|---|
1. | Zambia | 2 | 121st |
2. | Niger | 2 | 120th |
3. | Somalia | 4 | 119th |
4. | Benin | 7 | 115th |
5. | Eritrea | 9 | 112th |
6. | Republic of Congo | 11 | 110th |
7. | Mauritania | 11 | 109th |
8. | Ethiopia | 12 | 108th |
9. | Sudan | 15 | 107th |
10. | Namibia | 15 | 106th |
Note: African countries with zero merchant marine fleets were not mentioned. These countries include; Mali, Chad, Central Africa Republic, Burkina Faso, Botswana,
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Source Link: https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/lifestyle/10-african-countries-with-the-smallest-merchant-marine-fleet/tegqmdy