By L. Karageorgos
The 50 most prominent Greek shipowners in the world own and manage vessels that exceed 250 million dwt in transport capacity, according to the latest figures by Clarksons Research.
A presentation of the “top 50” is one of the highlights in a special shipping edition published by “N” on the occasion of the Posidonia 2018 maritime exhibition in Athens this week. The special edition will be distributed on Monday during the inauguration of the biennial exhibition, and on Tuesday for subscribers.
At last estimate, the Greek-controlled commercial fleet comprises 17 percent of the global total based on gt, followed by the Japanese fleet at 13 percent, and with China a close third, at 12 percent.
According to Stephen Gordon, the managing director of Clarksons Research Services, over the last few years Greek shipowners and executives have entrenched their position as leaders in the global marine shipping sector, with their share of the global transport capacity increasing from 14 percent in 2008 to 17 percent in 2018.
He also noted that Greek shipowners and Greek-controlled shipping companies remain traditional “cross traders” that play a decisive role in supporting global trade.
The most recent estimates place the value of the Greek-controlled fleet at 103.5 billion USD. At the same time, Greek shipowners appear to also hold the lead in terms of new orders. Specifically, new ship orders by Greek shipowners and Greek-controlled companies reach eight million gt, or 16 percent of the total 52 million gt comprising all new orders placed by shipping companies around the world. China follows with 14 percent, and Korea is third with 10 percent.
The all-important second hand market is also a favorite “playing field’ for Greek shipping interests, as in 2017 the latter recorded the most sales and purchases in this market. Newly acquired second hand vessels by Greek interests total 12 million gt, while sales of ships equaled nine million gt, behind German companies, which were first in terms of selling second hand vessels.
Some 47 percent of the tonnage purchased by Greek shipping interests in 2017 corresponded to bulkers; 26 percent to tankers and 17 percent were container ships.
The biggest Greek-controlled shipping concern in the world is the Angelicoussis shipping group, named after the eponymous family and headed by John Angelicoussis, with 125 vessels (47 tankers, 52 bulkers and 26 LNG carriers) and a capacity of 24 million dwt.
The Navios group, led by Angeliki Frangou, comes in second with 168 vessels (48 tankers, 75 bulkers and 41 container ships and another five in other categories) and 15.9 million dwt.
Dynacom, run by Giorgos Prokopiou, is in third place with a fleet of 112 vessels and 14.2 million dwt – 60 tankers, 38 bulkers, two containerships and 12 LNGs.
