Greeks rein in spending on ship acquisitions
Greek shipowners spent some $11 billion on ship purchases in the first half of 2011, down from $16.3 billion in the same period last year, according to data compiled by Clarksons shipbrokers.
The considerable decline is due to the partial withdrawal of Greeks from the dry-bulk carrier markets, as in the January-June period they spent $3.4 billion on 193 such vessels against $6.9 billion for 300 vessels in the same period of 2010.
Despite this drop in expenditure, Greek shipowners are still at the top of the global shipping industry, controlling 14.5 percent of the world?s fleet in gross tonnage capacity, including their share in the tanker sector.
