By Christina Chafousidou

 

 

Naftemporiki, a Greek daily business newspaper, presented an English-language album entitled "The GREEKS: Masters of the seas sharing their life story" at the headquarters of Bayes Business School in the City of London. The album honors Greek shipowners with an entrepreneurial spirit at an international level.

 

In her speech, the author of the album Greta Christofilopoulou pointed out that the album is not an archive of images, but a canvas that captures the path of distinguished Greek shipowners. 

 

She made the remarks in the presence of the director of the Greek Shipping Cooperation Committee, Konstantinos Amarantidis, and representatives of the Greek shipping community in London.

 

She also emphasized that the album functions as a valuable source of knowledge, as it contains elements that document the journey of Greek shipowners to the top.

 

"Through facts, narratives and analyses, it shows how the perseverance, ingenuity and entrepreneurial foresight of Greek shipowners contributed to what we call the miracle of shipping," she said. 

 

Christofilopoulou noted that the publication of the album offers a rare and unique opportunity to see the maritime history of Greece through the eyes of the protagonists and their description.

 

Greeks dominate in tanker orders

 

One in four orders for tankers in 2024 came from Greek companies, according to data from Veson Nautical, with Greek shipowners ranking first in energy product carriers.

 

In particular, a record number of new tankers – 435 – were ordered in 2024, marking an increase of around 31% compared to the previous year.

 

The report, compiled by Veson's data and intelligence arm, VesselsValue, stated that the increase in newly built tankers is due to high demand, fleet renewal and a focus on green regulatory compliance, as well as continued increased tonnage demand for this sector and strong resale prices.

 

"The sector was very active in 2024, particularly in the first half of the year, as shipowners looked to renew their fleets with the latest technology," said Thomas Zwick, Senior Maritime Analyst at Veson Nautical. "Although 2025 started more slowly, orders are expected to increase as demand remains strong, but the levels seen in 2024 are not expected to be repeated."

 

The report added that the majority of orders placed this year were in the Handy class sector, which accounted for around 47% of the total with 204 such ships ordered. The ships ordered were largely in the MR sector, which are smaller, coated ships ordered for their flexibility and ability to operate in a wide range of locations.

 

In the second place was the Aframax/LR2 sector with 101 orders, followed by VLCCs in the third place with 57 orders, Suezmax in the fourth place with 45 new ships and Panamax/LR1 in the fifth place with 28 new orders.

 

The report also stated that Greece was the most active in newly built tankers, with 113 orders reported in 2024. China was in the second place with 75 orders placed, Singapore in the third place with 43 orders, the United Kingdom in the fourth place with 42 orders and Japan in the fifth place with 18 new orders.