For one more year, Greek shipping certified its dominance in the seas of the world. Greeks bought the most ships in 2023, while placing the most orders for shipbuilding.
According to Allied Shipbroking, Greek-owned shipping companies ordered the construction of 164 ships in the past 12 months, ahead of Japanese shipowners with 144.
Singapore and China came third and fourth in the year-end rankings with 110 and 92 orders, respectively. A total of 2,420 orders were placed in 2023, worldwide.
According to Allied records, China was by far the most successful shipbuilding country last year after its yards won almost half of the 1,845 orders across all major sectors such as dry bulk carriers, tankers, containers and gas.
Chinese builders took 859 of the orders placed in 2023, compared to 191 for Japanese shipyards and 177 for South Korea.
China dominated each of the sectors with the exception of natural gas carriers, where it won 56 orders compared to 62 won by South Korean shipyards that are leaders in the construction of liquefied natural gas carriers.
Greek shipowners ordered double the number of vessels 164 compared to the 81 contracts they had signed during 2022.
In 2023 the Greeks were particularly active in tanker shipbuilding contracts, accounting for more than half of their total newbuild contracts.
Allied states that:
- The Greeks ordered 87 tankers compared to 39 ordered by Japanese owners.
- They also ordered 57 bulk trucks, with Japanese owners again in second place with 37.
- The Greeks placed only two orders for container ships last year.
- In gas carriers, Japan-based shipowners led the way last year with 25 vessels, while the Greeks were in second place with 14 orders, closely followed by China and Singapore.
Ship purchases
The shipping companies with Greek interests also dominated the markets of second hand ships with the number reaching 233 ships out of the total of 1,731 ships that changed hands last year, a rate of 13.4%.
More specifically, the Greeks bought 157 bulk carriers, double the 77 bulk carriers acquired by Chinese shipowners, who were in second place ahead of third-placed Turkish owners.
Greek shipowners were also narrowly in first place in tankers buying 49 ahead of Chinese buyers with 46 deals.
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