By A. Tsimplakis
[email protected]
Greek shipowners are apparently again reverting to new shipbuilding, according to figures included in the annual study by Naftiliakis, with orders for 238 vessels (23.9 million dwt in capacity) on order.
The new orders have been made by 58 different Greek-owned shipping companies, and specifically for 105 tankers, 73 bulkers, 11 LPGs, 19 LNGs, two LEGs, 21 container ships, three offshore vessels and three drilling ships.
Nevertheless, new orders are still at a lower level than in previous years, as in 2013 there were 390 vessels under construction for 83 Greek-controlled companies. The height of the most recent shipping recession, in 2011, moreover, witnessed 481 new ship orders by 124 Greek-run concerns.
According to Naftiliakis, contracts for new orders reached 86 in the first nine months of 2017, while letters of intent for the building of up to eight bulk carriers for the Veniamis family’s Golden Union, and two newcastlemax vessels for the Angelicoussis group having been fielded after that period.
Angelicoussis already leads the pack in terms of current new orders, via the group’s Maran Tankers unit. The latter has nine VLCC tankers on order, with a capacity of 2.869 million tons.
Coming up next, in terms of capacity, is Star Bulk, owned by Petros Pappas’ Oaktree Capital, with nine vessels (1.7 million dwt) on order.
Chartworld Shipping, controlled by the Kollakis family, has 14 vessels on order, with a capacity of 1.27 million dwt.
In terms of value of under-construction vessels, Japan is the global leader, according to Vessels Value, at 20.1 billion USD. Greece is second with 15.2 billion USD, and China third with 15 billion USD in value.
