By Paris Tsirigotis

Orders for new bulk carriers from Greek shipowners rose significantly in October.

This was preceded by a nine-month period when no new orders for cargo ships were recorded from Greek shipowners for the first time in decades.

Since mid-October, however, Greek and foreign shipping agencies report that five Greek-owned companies have signed orders for 13 bulk carriers, all at the Hengli Shipbuilding shipyards in China.

The first move in chronological order was by Eastern Mediterranean, owned by Thanasis Martinos, who agreed with the Hengli shipyard to order four kamsarmaxes for delivery in 2027 and 2028. The prices of these ships with conventional fuels range around 35 million dollars each.

At the same time, the Chinese shipyards announced the order for a 180,000-ton capesize vessel, which according to shipbrokers’ reports concerns Seanergy, interests of Stamatis Tsantanis, with the cost, also for a ship with conventional fuels, estimated at approximately 74 million dollars.

The same Chinese shipbuilding group announced a few days later that it had secured up to six orders for bulk carriers, of the kamsarmax type, from the shipping company Efnav, which returned to new shipbuilding after a five-year hiatus. “Efnav, with the official signing of the six 82,000 dwt new buildings, marked the first cooperation between the two companies,” said the Chinese shipyard, which will build the ships.

The latest move was by Capital Maritime, owned by Vangelis Marinakis, who has ordered two capesizes (180,000 tons) from Hengli Shipbuilding. The price of the ships is estimated at approximately 150 million dollars for both, while the company is expected to receive them by the end of 2026. It is noted that the Greek shipping group, which in the last three to four years has placed many orders for dozens of ships of all types, is returning to bulk carrier shipbuilding after about 15 years.

The Port of Piraeus facilities

The “Meet the Big Port Tour” event was held at the port of Piraeus, as part of the welcoming of 40 new executives who recently joined the human resources of Piraeus Port Authority, whose president is LIN Ji.

The participants had the opportunity to get to know the largest port in the country and one of the most important in the Mediterranean. The tour covered the entire range of activities of the port, from the cruise and coastal shipping infrastructure to the logistics centers, container management and the shipbuilding and repair zone.The initiative aimed to in-depth inform young employees about the strategic role of Piraeus in international trade and shipping, as well as to strengthen corporate culture and cooperation. The port of Piraeus continues to invest in its human resources, promoting the development of innovation and knowledge in an environment with strong prospects.

The global port map will be reshaped in the coming period by Ultra-Large Container Ships (ULCS), gradually consolidating their dominance in container shipping, displacing smaller categories and creating excess capacity.

The global shift to container vessels over 18,000 TEUs, which are now the new “norm” in large shipyards, increases demands on port infrastructures internationally.

The port of Piraeus, particularly the Piraeus Container Terminal (PCT), was among the first ports in the Mediterranean to invest in infrastructure capable of handling ULCS, ahead of their widespread introduction to global trade.

As part of its investment program, PCT provides berth depths of up to 18 meters and has installed Super-Post-Panamax cranes, capable of handling up to 24 rows of containers in width.

The port of Piraeus has already managed to stand out as one of the most modern and strategic hubs.

This dynamic was confirmed by the arrival in 2023 of the containership “OOCL Piraeus”, 24,188 TEUs, one of the largest container ships in the world.

At the same time, the port of Thessaloniki is also entering the mega-ship game. The signing of the contract for the expansion of the 6th pier is expected within two weeks.