A series of statistical readings on the world’s largest fleet, in terms of tonnage, has been made over the last months. Clarksons recently stated that China surpassed the Greek-owned fleet in terms of gt (internal volume of the ship): 249.2 million gt China, 249 million gt Greece.
This was followed by the annual report of the Association of Greek Shipowners, and the IOBE study, which gave a different perspective.
In terms of dwt, the weight of cargo that a ship can carry, that is, the actual carrying capacity, Greek shipowners remain at the top by far. According to the UNCTAD data, the Greek-owned fleet occupies the first place in terms of dwt, as its total capacity is 393 million tons, followed by China (302 million tons dwt ) and Japan (238 million dwt). However, the BIMCO report based on data from Clarksons better clarifies the situation, since it only calculates the vessels of the ocean shipping industry.
As Greek shipping executives pointed out to “Naftemporiki”, the calculations also include thousands of very small ships that exist in China, and which serve the country’s internal needs. In the BIMCO report, only ships carrying cargo are recorded. In this measurement and in terms of dwt, the Greek shipowners hold the lead again, with 19%, while the Chinese follow with 15%.
Shipbuilding orders
Although the Chinese fleet has fewer large shipowners, the order book of all Chinese shipowners is 21% larger than the order book of Greek shipowners, according to the analysis. “Although Greek shipowners are often very active in the second-hand market, the newbuildings may suggest that the Chinese fleet may grow faster than the Greek fleets in the coming years.”
However, in 2023 Greek shipowners seem to have accelerated, having the lion’s share of newbuildings, around 31%, according to “Naftemporiki” which was based on data from Xclusiv Shipbrokers.
A common feature of both Chinese and Greek shipowners, the BIMCO report stated, is that in relation to their existing fleet, their order books are for liquefied natural gas carriers and car carriers (PCCs), two markets that currently currently showing steady growth.
Chinese shipowners hold the largest order books in these fields. Their order book for LNG and PCC vessels is respectively 126% and 260% of their fleet.
