To illustrate Greece's maritime heritage, the Olympic flame, which recently arrived in Piraeus, Athens, is burning brightly onboard a full-scale replica of an ancient 'Trieris', a 3000-year-old warship. The flame looks set to burn brightly for the foreseeable future, as the Greek-owned/operated fleet ranks 1st in the world

The massive newbuilding spree that Greek shipowners have embarked on in the past five years not only renewed a major part of the Greek-owned fleet but also changed its composition. Newbuildings, such as chemical carriers, LNG carriers containerships and Car Carriers were added to the traditional bulk and tanker market segments that the Greek shipowner has previously favoured. And today, Greek interests account for an 18 percent share of world newbuilding orders, making them one of the most important players in the newbuilding market.

The current Greek-operated fleet is 95Mgrt, with a further 14Mgrt on order, and DNV has a sizeable share, with some 20Mgrt in total, including 3.5Mgrt newbuildings - which is in excess of 25 percent of the current world orderbook.

An important milestone
In April of this year, DNV passed a special milestone of 100Mgrt vessels built to its class; the vessel that stamped this occasion was the Greek-owned containership P&O Nedlloyd Caracas, which belongs to Danaos shipping.

Ioannis Kourmatzis, DNV Maritime's regional manager for Southern Europe, says that this is "a tribute to Greek shipping and also illustrates the importance that Greek shipping has and will have in the future for DNV."

However, as Piraeus-based Kourmatzis points out, Greek owners are not only placing newbuilding orders, they are continuing to be active in the second-hand purchase market. And although activity may seem minimal, as ship purchases have increased by only 8.8 percent from the 362 vessels purchased in 2002, the unexpected rise in freight prices, particularly in the dry market, is seeing a number of Greek owners look to modern second-hand tonnage with renewed vigour.

Changing demands
Greek newbuilding orders have traditionally focused on tankers and bulk carriers. But it is becoming ever more apparent from the current order book that this trend is changing. 2001, for example, saw fewer orders placed for bulkers, although the Greek market continued to be very active in tankers, especially panamax-sized vessels and products tankers up to around 45 000dwt. Enterprises Shipping and Trading, Tsakos Shipping, Thenamaris, Barclays Shipping, Stelmar and Athenian Sea Carriers were amongst the companies with a substantial orderbook in this type of vessels.

Kristen Navigation, Gulf Marine Management, Enesel, Eastern Meditteranean, Alpha Tankers, Arcadia, Ceres, Liquimar, Dynacom, Tsakos Shipping, Marmaras Navigation, Thenamaris, Minerva have been continuously ordering larger Tankers from Aframax to VLCCs. Greek Owners have been pioneers in ordering ICE-strengthened Tankers lately, whilst Kristen Navigation and Dynacom are making a dynamic entrance into the LNG market.

Customised solutions
Though in many cases standard shipyard designs are ordered, some are modified according to individual owners' requirements says Kourmatzis, who remarks that the larger, more experienced shipowners, with considerable expertise in-house, closely scrutinise specification and design. He told Classification News that DNV can assist with pre-contract specifications, design review and support services in general, and can also offer a complete Condition Assessment Programme for ships in service, the review and approval of proposed transfers into Class, and extensive range of training courses in Piraeus.

Kourmatzis believes that the current newbuilding boom will continue into the forseeable future. He suggests that with the tanker fleet rejuvenation in full swing, due to the latest regulations imposing phase-out restrictions on existing vessels, it is highly likely that the newbuilding drive will continue. There will also be an increased demand for LNG carriers, he predicts.

Date: 2004-06-02