Athens News: The World at Their Fleet

“The Greek tanker fleet has strengthened its position in the world’s oceans. It currently represents almost a fifth of the global fleet and has doubled in size since 1995, despite one of the worst global crises of the past 70 years and probably the worst time for shipping in history. Nevertheless, Greeks own the largest as well as one of the youngest fleets in history. Industry experts attribute this success to a strategy of heavy investment in new ships over the past decade in contrast with a prior expansion through secondhand purchases. According to data by US shipbroker Poten & Partners, one of the largest brokers in world shipping markets, Greek-owned ships representing 19 percent of the world fleet with 642 vessels, as compared to 13 percent in 1995, with 287 vessels. The Poten & Partners data closely reflect figures by the Greek Shipping Co-operation Committee, the London-based body representing Greek shipping interests, whose annual report stated that Greeks control 22 percent of the world’s tankers in numbers and 23 percent in deadweight. Weekly shipping review TradeWinds quoted Poten as saying that ‘Greek companies have proven themselves to be among the most experienced and savvy operators in a notoriously volatile market’”.