🇬🇧 United Kingdom imports of specialist vessels: 2024 trade data
Imports of specialist vessels by the United Kingdom reached $1.12 billion in 2024 (121.1 thousand tonnes). It ranks 7th of 164 countries for imports of this product. Value rose 110% on 2023. Over 2017-2024 it shrank by about 16% a year on average. The peak in this period was 2017, at $3.79 billion.
Public statistics, latest reported year 2024. Values in US dollars.
Imports of specialist vessels by year, 2017-2024
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Year by year
| Year | Value | Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1.12B | 121.1K t |
| 2023 | $530.6M | 100.8K t |
| 2022 | $583.7M | 84.7K t |
| 2021 | $577.3M | 234.2K t |
| 2020 | $405.0M | 44.7K t |
| 2019 | $499.7M | 27.0K t |
| 2018 | $1.57B | 29.7K t |
| 2017 | $3.79B | 135.9K t |
Where the United Kingdom imports specialist vessels from
Norway alone supplied 70% of it.
| Supplier country | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 🇳🇴 Norway | $782.8M | 70% |
| 🇰🇷 South Korea | $314.7M | 28% |
| 🇮🇩 Indonesia | $10.7M | 1% |
| 🇳🇱 Netherlands | $2.3M | 0.2% |
| 🇳🇬 Nigeria | $1.9M | 0.2% |
| 🇲🇾 Malaysia | $1.6M | 0.1% |
| 🇵🇱 Poland | $706K | 0.1% |
| 🇺🇸 United States | $528K | 0.1% |
| 🇦🇴 Angola | $286K | 0% |
| 🇮🇪 Ireland | $227K | 0% |
Types of specialist vessels under HS 8905
| 8905.20 | Floating or submersible drilling or production platforms | 71% |
| 8905.90 | Vessels: light, fire-floats, floating cranes and other vessels, the navigability of which is subsidiary to their main function, floating docks | 29% |
| 8905.10 | Dredgers | 0.1% |
Codes and full descriptions: HS heading 8905.
Average import price of specialist vessels
The average declared value was about $9.22 per kg, 34% above the world average of $6.89. This usually points to higher-grade or processed goods.
Declared value divided by weight, all 2024 shipments. Prices per shipment and per company are in EximDataX.
The United Kingdom also exports specialist vessels
The United Kingdom exported $667.3 million of specialist vessels in 2024 (82.4 thousand tonnes). That makes it the 10th largest exporter of this product worldwide, out of 97 countries. Canada alone took 50% of it. Among the main buyer markets, Turkey grew fastest (+556% on the year before).
| Destination | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 🇨🇦 Canada | $336.4M | 50% |
| 🇦🇺 Australia | $125.9M | 19% |
| 🇸🇬 Singapore | $105.7M | 16% |
| 🇮🇳 India | $63.1M | 9.5% |
| 🇹🇷 Turkey | $20.8M | 3.1% |
| 🇳🇱 Netherlands | $4.3M | 0.6% |
| 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | $2.2M | 0.3% |
| 🇮🇹 Italy | $2.2M | 0.3% |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | $1.6M | 0.2% |
| 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago | $1.1M | 0.2% |
Who is behind these numbers in the United Kingdom?
Public statistics stop at country totals and the last published year. EximDataX shows the shipment records underneath: the companies, dates, quantities and declared values, updated weekly.
Shipment records are in the platform
Tell us what you trade and we will show you the latest records on a live call.
Direct customs feed: shipment-level records from the official customs source.
Updated weekly on EximDataX (some markets daily), while public statistics stop at 2024.
Source: CEPII BACI (reconciled UN Comtrade data), HS 2017 edition, release 202601, Etalab Open Licence 2.0. Annual values in US dollars at the customs border; quantities in tonnes where reported. HS 8905: Light-vessels, fire-floats, dredgers, floating cranes, other vessels; the navigability of which is subsidiary to main function; floating docks, floating, submersible drilling, production platforms.
Specialist vessels trade in the United Kingdom: questions
What is the value of specialist vessels imported by the United Kingdom?
The United Kingdom imported specialist vessels worth $1.12 billion in 2024 (121.1 thousand tonnes).
Where does the United Kingdom import specialist vessels from?
The main supplier countries in 2024 were Norway (70%), South Korea (28%), Indonesia (1%).
What is the average import price of specialist vessels in the United Kingdom?
The average declared import value was about $9.22 per kg in 2024, against a world average of $6.89 per kg.
Does the United Kingdom export specialist vessels?
Yes. The United Kingdom exported specialist vessels worth $667.3 million in 2024, mainly to Canada, Australia, Singapore.
What is the HS code for specialist vessels?
Specialist vessels falls under HS heading 8905 (Light-vessels, fire-floats, dredgers, floating cranes, other vessels; the navigability of which is subsidiary to main fu). The six-digit codes under it split the product by type.
How can I find the companies trading specialist vessels with the United Kingdom?
These public statistics stop at country level. EximDataX has a direct customs feed for the United Kingdom with shipment-level records, updated weekly, where you can see the importers and exporters by name.
Specialist vessels trade in other countries
More trade data for the United Kingdom
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