Greek shipowners: World champions with investments of 13.5 billion dollars

Total investments of 13.5 billion dollars in purchases and construction of ships are estimated to have been made by Greek shipowners in 2022, maintaining first place worldwide in these transactions.

In more detail, according to the data of British shipping firm Clarksons, Greek shipowners placed orders with a total value of 7.9 billion dollars, corresponding to 100 ships with a total transport capacity of 6.7 million dwt. In terms of number of ships, most orders were placed in containerships (38 ships), followed by bulkers (22 ships), tankers (18 ships) and LNG Carriers (14 ships).

How many ships and what kind does the Greek-owned fleet have?

However, the total number of Greek-owned ships under construction is 230, with a carrying capacity of 18.4 million dwt and a value of $20 billion. In terms of dwt, they represent 8% of all global orders. Of these, 45 are bulkers, 68 containerships, 56 tankers, 36 LNG Carriers, 21 LPG Carriers and four of various other types.

In terms of ship sales, according to the shipping brokerage house Allied Shipbroking, in 2022 Greek shipowners invested $5.6 billion in purchases of 254 “second-hand” ships. It is noted that in 2021 they had bought 375 ships investing 7.5 billion dollars.

The comparison of the data of 2021 and 2022 shows a decrease in the activity of Greek shipping companies in ship purchases, while they remained equally active in sales. This means that the Greek shipowners made the most of the increase in ship values mainly in tankers and by going out as sellers and secured high profits.

What they invested in

Greek shipowners in 2022, in the markets, focused more on tankers acquiring 115 for $2.7 billion in contrast to 2021 which focused on dry bulk carriers investing $4.1 billion to buy 230 bulkers.

It is worth noting that according to data released by shipping brokerage Xclusiv, the tanker fleet is expected to shrink in the coming years, mainly due to the fact that the order book is at its lowest level since 1996, but also because older ships make up a large part of the total tanker fleet (vessels over 20 years old are 635, 8.5% of the active fleet).

Therefore, in an even limited increase in oil demand, a very strong tanker freight market is expected given the reduction in the active fleet. And in dry bulk carriers fleet growth is controlled, as vessels on order make up 6.8% of the active fleet.