Greek seafaring shipping
Greece remains to this day the leading shipping power in the world, controlling about 20% of the total maritime trade in the world, confirming in the best possible way that seamanship is in the DNA of the Greeks, keeping a tradition of centuries lost in its depths. history.
Greek shipowners own 20.67% of the world tonnage and 54.28% of the tonnage of the European Union.
According to the latest annual report of the Union of Greek shipowners (UGS) , Greek shipowners control 32.64% of the global tanker fleet, 15.14% of the global fleet transporting chemicals and petroleum products, and 16.33% of the global LPG fleet. / LPG), 21.7% of the global bulk cargo fleet, and 8.92% of the global container fleet.
Greece is included in the top five shipping countries in the world. The other four are Japan, China, Singapore and Hong Kong, which account for more than 50% of world capacity. In recent years, Germany, Japan and the Republic of Korea have lost ground, while Greece, Singapore, China and Hong Kong have increased their fleet sizes.
At the beginning of 2020, the orders for the construction of Greek interest ships (over 1,000 gt) of various types amounted to 128 (with a total capacity of 15.928 million tons deadweight -dwt) out of a total of 2,425 orders, with a capacity of 166.825 million dwt.
Greek shipowners have invested heavily in new and energy efficient ships, with the average age of the Greek-owned fleet (9 to 17 years) being lower than the average age of the global fleet (9 to 61 years). The Greek register numbers 706 ships (over 1,000 gt), with a tonnage of 39.19 million gt.
Piraeus, as the largest port in the country, is the geographical core of Greek and Greek-owned shipping where the activities of shipping companies and directly related sectors of the economy are developed. In combination with the well-trained human resources that serve these sectors, a single and strong mechanism for the development of financial synergies is created, which composes the Greek maritime network (maritimecluster).
In Greece there are more than 1,400 established shipping companies in the country of no. 25 law 27/75 and more than 3,700 shipping companies of law 959/79, which provide direct employment to approximately 16,000 employees, making Piraeus a world-class shipping center and a base of know-how in the technical and commercial management of ships.
The activities that take place in Piraeus extend, at the same time, to financial / banking services, legal services, marine insurance, shipbuilding and shipbuilding repair works, towing and maritime assistance works, shipping agencies, refueling equipment, shipping, etc. Some of the most well-known financial institutions as well as prominent Mutual Insurance Organizations (P & I Clubs), have established their subsidiaries in Piraeus, thus providing important financial services to shipping companies. One hundred and ninety two thousand (192,000) people are directly or indirectly employed in maritime activities, contributing dynamically to the economic development of our country and the employment of the national workforce.