Over the previous year, the Greek-controlled fleet slightly deflated in terms of number of vessels, deadweight and gross tonnage, while the Greek flag is no longer the largest in terms of dwt.
As of March 6, 2019, Greek companies controlled 4,017 vessels of various categories, totaling 339.54 million dwt and 198.16 million gross tons. According to data provided by IHS Markit, the numbers represents a drop of 131 vessels, 2.37 million dwt and 1.12 million gross tons from a year earlier .
Only 17 percent of these units were registered in Greece with the Liberia, Marshall Islands and Malta constituting the bulk of registries. The fleet registered under the Greek flag recorded a loss of 52 ships this year, now comprising 671 ships, of 68.26 million dwt and 39.98 million gross tons. The flag now represents 20.1% of the total dwt of the Greek owned fleet.
The Liberia and Marshall Island flags are at the forefront with 840 and 838 Greek-owned ships, respectively, on their registers. Compared with the data from last year, Liberia gained 16 ships and Marshall Islands 14 ships, while decreases have been recorded in the number of vessels under the Cypriot, Panamanian and Maltese flags, with losses of 26, 18, and 7 ships, respectively.
With regard to the order book, as to ship type, currently there are 36 oil tankers on order by Greek owners, 20 chemical and products tankers, 39 liquefied gas tankers, 49 ore and bulk carriers, and 12 container ships.
Finally, Greek parent companies represent 26.9 percent of the world tanker fleet and 15.5 percent of the ore and bulk fleet. Overall, the Greek owned fleet stands at 7.2 percent of the world fleet in terms of ship numbers, 15.9 percent in terms of dwt and 13.4 percent in terms of gross tons.