The latest annual report published by the London-based Greek Shipping Cooperation Committee (GSCC) shows that Greek shipowners have signed a large number of newbuilding contracts in the past 12 months, with order books growing by more than 50 percent. At the same time, the Greek fleet has been growing steadily in terms of the number of vessels, deadweight and gross tonnage.
As of March 4, 2024, Greek interests now own a record 4,212 vessels of all categories, with a total deadweight of 335.2 million tons and a gross tonnage of 208.3 million tons, which has grown significantly over the past 12 months, according to the annual analysis of the fleet compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Compared to March 2023, the Greek fleet increased by 102 vessels, 5.99 million tons of gross deadweight and 3.91 million tons of gross tonnage.
In terms of newbuildings, Greek shipowners have seen a 50 percent surge in newbuilding orders over the past 12 months, indicating a growing enthusiasm for modern ships. The latest statistics confirm that Greek shipowners play a leading role in the shipbuilding industry and have an outstanding order book of 373 vessels with a total deadweight of 33.1 million tons and a gross tonnage of 22.9 million tons.
Liberia and the Marshall Islands topped the list of 32 flags flown by ships in the Hellenic fleet, with 1,159 and 1,096 respectively. In the last 12 months, the Greek fleet registered 79 new vessels in Liberia, 34 in the Marshall Islands, 19 in Cyprus and 2 in Portugal.
On the other hand, the number of vessels registered under the remaining flag States decreased slightly, with 23 fewer vessels under the Maltese flag, 8 fewer under the Bahamian flag, and 2 fewer under the Panamanian flag, the Bermudan flag and the Isle of Man flag, respectively. This year, the number of ships registered under the Greek flag remained the same, but the gross deadweight and gross tonnage decreased slightly, to 1.07 million dwt and 391,129 gt respectively.
The total number of ships registered under the EU flag amounted to 1,278, or 30.3% of the Greek fleet, a slight decrease from the previous year.