Greek shipowners have the largest commercial fleet in the world in terms of transport capacity, while at the same time they own the second largest in terms of value.
According to the UNCTAD data, the Greek-owned fleet occupies the first place in terms of DWT, as its total capacity is 393 million tonnage DWT, followed by China (302 million tonnage DWT) and Japan (238 million tonnage DWT).
In terms of value, the Greek-owned fleet is second worldwide ($163.3 billion), after the Chinese fleet ($179.7 billion), with its average age lower than the global average (almost 10 years).
According to IOBE’s research on Greek shipping and its contribution to the Greek economy, which was carried out with the support of the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation, Greek shipowners are ranked third in the global list of newbuild ship orders in terms of total tonnage (28.9 million GT in August 2023).
Despite the high position in the world ranking, it is noted that Greece’s orders are lower than those of China by 41.1% (34.1 million GT) and Japan by 28.9% (28.9 million GT), a fact that in the medium term might reshape the balances between the strongest fleets, the report noted.
However, according to data from the last six months, the Greek shipping sector has accelerated its speed in the construction of new commercial ships of all types and sizes.
