France Flag Vessels
2,436 vessels registered under the France flag
France Maritime Fleet Overview
France has 2,436 registered vessels tracked on MarineRadar. The fleet primarily consists of Fishing (228), Sailing Vessel (160), Cargo (136), Other (105) and Passenger (70). Track all France-flagged ships with live AIS positions and real-time maritime data.
About the France Flag
Registry Authority
France operates two flags: the metropolitan French flag administered by the Direction des Affaires Maritimes, and the Registre International Français (RIF) administered from Marseille, which provides open-registry-style flexibility while preserving EU-flag status.
Why Ships Register in France
RIF combines an EU-approved tonnage tax regime with social-contribution relief and flexible nationality rules for crew. The metropolitan flag is required for domestic French cabotage and overseas-territory trade. Both flags are on the Paris MOU and US Qualship 21 white lists.
Notable Operators
CMA CGM (the world's third-largest container line) flags a substantial share of its strategic tonnage in France, alongside Brittany Ferries, Corsica Linea, Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, Geogas, Sea Tankers, and the offshore-support fleets serving TotalEnergies' upstream operations.
Trade Routes
French-flagged ships operate CMA CGM container loops on Asia–Europe, transatlantic, and intra-Mediterranean trades, ferry services between mainland France, Corsica, Britain, and Ireland, LNG and crude tanker trades for TotalEnergies, and ro-ro services to French Caribbean and Indian Ocean overseas territories.
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