Over 1,000 electric ships have now been deployed globally. Mostly small vessels. This data-file profiles 30 case studies of electric ships (on the examples tab) and compares the costs of large electric ships against 20,000 TEU container vessels that would otherwise be fueled by marine diesel.
According to DNV, as of November 2025 there are already 1,072 electric ships in operation, among the world’s fleet of 110,000 commercial vessels. 630 of these are smaller harbor craft. 157 are larger ocean-going vessels. Norway is a world leader, with over 100 electric ferries by 2026.
For a closer look, we aggregated the details for 30 of these vessels, including the vessel name, vessel type, when it was delivered, where it operates, its cost (in $M), its length (meters), ship size (dwt), cargo carrying capacity (in TEU, or pax, or tons), its battery size (in MWH), propulsion capacity (in MW), maximum speed (knots), range (km) and typical journey times (in hours).
Strong momentum is seen over the last decade, and since 2015, when the first electric car ferry in our data-file, the MV Ampere, was deployed in Norway. Electric vessels have been deployed in more and more locations. And the industry has repeatedly eclipsed its own prior records for the largest vessels. Specific examples are in the notes.
Hence how are the economics of a battery-energized electric ship versus a vessel that is fueled by marine diesel? To answer this question, we have modeled a large container ship, then flexed the calculations for the battery size that would be needed, to unlock different ranges, the incremental capex costs of batteries, and potentially lower carrying capacity on the vessels.
On sub-500km routes, an electric vessel has comparable costs to a marine diesel vessel, and lower costs overall when oil is above $120/bbl and electricity prices are below 6c/kWh. Economic sensitivity to oil prices, electricity prices and other input assumptions can be stress-tested in the data-file.
For underlying case studies of electric ships and the economics of electric shipping, please see the data-file. Our conclusions for the broader industry are covered in our outlook into electric ships.