The Greek-owned merchant fleet is showing a small decline in its share of the global fleet this year but is still growing in absolute figures and maintains its No.1 position in the world, says the latest report by the Greek Shipping Cooperation Committee, the London-based association involved with issues concerning Greek-owned ships.

A total of 3,397 vessels are controlled by Greek interests, including 364 ships under construction. This translates into a shipping capacity of 190 million deadweight tons (dwt) and corresponds to 16.1 percent of the global fleet.

The increase in ship numbers from the previous year comes to 1.76 percent, or 59 ships. More importantly its capacity has grown by 4.11 percent year-on-year, or 7.5 million dwt.

In March 2005 Greeks owned 3,338 ships with a capacity of 182.5 million dwt, which then amounted to 16.5 percent of the global fleet, down from 18 percent in 2004.

Therefore, despite the fact that the Greek-controlled fleet is still growing, its rate has declined from previous years and according to the committee this may continue.

Another key feature is the shrinking of the Greek register as the flag is carried by only 910 vessels, including 151 under construction, from 969 ships last year. This is a decline of 59 vessels and 7.5 million dwt, or 11.22 percent. This means that only 32 percent of the Greek-owned fleet bears the country’s flag. Other flags on Greek ships are the Panamese (14 percent), the Maltese (13 percent), the Liberian and the Cypriot (10 percent each).

The greatest rise in Greek ship registration was realized by Liberia and the Marshall Islands, adding 92 ships each, while the Bahamas added 43 ships. The greatest decline was recorded by Cyprus (54 ships) and Malta (45 ships).

In the Greek-owned fleet, the number of oil tankers increased by 34 or 3 million dwt to 536 vessels with a capacity of 69.9 million dwt. Chemical and product tankers have also increased, numbering 462 with a capacity of 15 million dwt, posting a rise of 44 ships and 1.1 million dwt. A smaller rise, by 13 ships, was recorded in dry-bulkers. However the 1,397 dry-bulkers in total have increased their shipping capacity by 2.7 million dwt to 87.3 million dwt thanks to the larger vessels added to the fleet.

Another positive development concerns the drop in the age of the Greek-owned fleet, as the average ship age is now at 15.3 years from 15.9 years 12 months ago and 20.3 years in 2000. The average age of the global fleet stands at 14.9 years. This shows that the process of renewing the fleet continues, even though several shipowners are reluctant to withdraw their older vessels since in some cases they achieve high chartering rates due to high demand.

The categorization of the 364 vessels under construction makes interesting reading: Tankers take the biggest share, numbering 183. They include 121 chemical and other products tankers and 62 oil tankers. There are 92 dry-bulkers under construction and 29 ships to carry liquefied gas of any kind, which serves to prove that a number of shipowners intend to expand to more specialized markets with great scope for growth.