The Greek-owned merchant fleet has grown by 90 million tons in seven years, putting the country at the top of the global shipping industry, according to Clarksons Platou shipbrokers data.

Since 2010, the ships’ Greek owners added 89.3 million gross tonnage out of the 391 million gross tonnage added in the global merchant fleet, a Kathimerini newspaper report says.

Greeks’ contribution of 23 percent to the expansion of the world’s fleet has made the Greek merchant fleet to grow 74 percent in seven years. This illustrates that Greek shipowners took advantage of the global financial crisis to renew and strengthen their fleet, making the most of their strong cash flow and the low prices of ships.

According to the database of the Greek Shipping Cooperation Committee in London, on March 1, 2017 there were 4,085 Greek-owned ships with a capacity of more than 1,000 gt each, with a total capacity of 192.43 million gt. This represents a drop of seven vessels compared to last year, but also an annual capacity increase of 3.5 million gt. That includes 196 ships with a capacity of 20.6 million gt that are under construction, the Kathimerini report concludes.

Source: greece.greekreporter.com