We recently published a list of 11 Best Marine Shipping Stocks to Invest in Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) stands against other best marine shipping stocks to invest in now.

According to Dr. Shashi Kumar of the US Naval Institute, geopolitical developments tend to have a greater impact on the highly volatile shipping market compared to market forces. Since the 2007–08 financial crisis, the broader global shipping market continues to face a series of new challenges. However, the challenging conditions this industry faced in 2024 were unmatched over the past decade and a half, says Kumar. The year’s challenging conditions included the prolonged war in Ukraine, wanton Houthi attacks in the Red Sea as well as increased tensions in the South China Sea. Kumar also noted that container ships decided to avoid the Suez Canal and chose to transport goods around southern Africa, which increased transit time and greenhouse gas emissions. Despite this, the owners of these container ships saw a profitable year.

What Lies Ahead for Marine Vessels Market?

The marine vessels market is expected to reach US$133.63 billion by 2030 from US$111.10 billion in 2024, as per Research and Markets. While global trade continues to fuel the demand for different types of ships, the military navy growth has also been lending support to expand the market. Notably, the requirement for larger and more versatile vessels stems from the demand for efficient transportation of goods. Also, increasing passenger and tourism needs continue to fuel fleet expansion and technology upgrades.

The firm believes that several cruise lines have been adding more ships to cater to the needs of travelers focusing on unique experiences. Overall, the strategic fleet renewal remains critical for market improvement. New and fuel-efficient vessels have been supporting to meet environmental standards and lower costs, says Research and Markets. The transition towards sustainable shipping practices continues to become more critical to obey the international rules targeting reduced emissions.

READ ALSO: 7 Best Stocks to Buy For Long-Term and 8 Cheap Jim Cramer Stocks to Invest In.

Cargo Vessels Segment Is Expected to Lead Growth

Research and Markets believes that cargo vessels continue to become a critical part of commercial shipping. Such vessels tend to play a vital role in global trade by transporting numerous goods across the seas. With the demand for faster and more reliable shipping increasing, the broader industry remains focused on adopting new technologies. Notably, modern navigation systems, eco-friendly fuels, and automation tend to enhance efficiency, improve safety, and reduce the environmental impact. Therefore, as global trade has been expanding, cargo vessels remain critical when it comes to international commerce and economic growth.

Our Methodology

To list the 11 Best Marine Shipping Stocks to Invest in Now, we used a screener to shortlist the companies catering to the broader marine shipping industry. Next, we mentioned the hedge fund sentiments around each stock, as of Q4 2024. Finally, the stocks were arranged in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiments.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 21

Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) operates in the container shipping industry. It owns and charters out containerships under long-term, fixed-rate charters to container liner companies. The demand for the company’s well-specified, fuel-efficient vessels remained robust across 2024. Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) took advantage of such tailwinds in a bid to secure extended charter coverage throughout its fleet, resulting in the addition of $885 million of contracted revenues to its substantial backlog. The company has been able to secure attractive, multi-year coverage, even for its oldest ships.

Amidst a volatile and uncertain geopolitical environment, the company continues to benefit from optionality and deployment flexibility represented by Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL)’s fleet of mid-sized and smaller containerships. The company remains well-placed to sustain its track record of creating shareholder value via operational excellence, capital allocation discipline, and opportunistic acquisitions. Over the past several years, Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) has benefited from the shipping up-cycle, capitalizing on its healthy cash flow and forward visibility to opportunistically refinance, extend its debt maturities, and reduce the borrowing costs.

Moving forward, the company remains focused on continuing its fleet renewal and optimization strategy. As of December 31, Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) had $1.88 billion, resulting in 2.3 years of average remaining contract cover. Furthermore, during 2024 and the first couple of months of 2025, the company added 50 charters for ~$885 million of additional contracted revenues.

Overall, GSL ranks 6th on our list of best marine shipping stocks to invest in now. While we acknowledge the potential of GSL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some deeply undervalued AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for a deeply undervalued AI stock that is more promising than GSL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.