The European shipping industry added EUR147bn ($163bn) to the European Union's (EU) gross domestic product (GDP) in 2013, according to an updated Oxford Economics study.

The study estimated the direct impact of the EU shipping industry to be EUR56bn. Of 615,000 people directly employed by the sector, it is estimated that four fifths are jobs based at sea and 44% of those seafarers are EU or European Economic Association nationals. GDP generation per worker is well above the EU average of EUR53,000, coming in at EUR85,000.

A further 1.1m jobs are believed to be indirectly supported by the industry through the shipping supply chain, worth EUR61bn. The spending of workers in the shipping industry and its supply chain is estimated at EUR30bn, employing a further 516,000 people.

"Europe controls the world’s largest and most innovative fleet of ships," commented Patrick Verhoeven, European Community Shipowners' Association secretary general, adding "this very important fact is often overlooked despite the fact that it plays a key role in the economic impact of our industry on the European economy."

For the purposes of the study, the shipping industry was defined as the transport of goods and persons by sea, service and offshore support vessels and towing and dredging activities at sea.