By Antonis Tsimplakis

The Greek fleet made more than 160,000 port calls in 174 countries in 2023, underscoring the sector's global footprint and geoeconomic importance.

As reported by the Union of Greek Shipowners, Greek shipping is a strategic economic partner of major economies, such as China and the United States, as well as emerging markets including India and Brazil.

According to a LinkedIn post by the Union of Greek Shipowners, whose president is Melina Travlou, the Greek-owned fleet of ocean-going vessels, over 1,000 GT, currently numbers almost 5,800 ships, with a total capacity exceeding 458 million dwt.

The data confirm the steady strengthening of the international presence of Greek shipping and its long-term competitiveness.

VLCC rates break the $200,000-a-day barrier as Greek shipowners lead

The world’s largest charterers have launched a “rally” to secure free tonnage for the 300,000-ton supertankers that carry 2 million barrels of crude.

The rates are exceeding previous records in both the period charters and the spot market. They reached 208,000 dollars per day in the spot market for a voyage and 110,000 dollars per day for a 12-month period.

Last week, a Maran Tankers’ tanker reached 166,000 dollars per day for a voyage, while the “Nave Galactic” built in 2009 by Navios, owned by Angeliki Frangou, closed at 184,000 dollars per day.

Shortly afterwards, another tanker, the Olympic Leopard, owned by Olympic Shipping & Management (Onassis Foundation), recorded 191,000 dollars per day, while Maria Angelikousi’s “Maran Dione” reached 199,000 per day. The psychological threshold of 200,000 dollars per day was finally broken by DHT’s “DHT Jaguar.” However, it later dropped to 130,000 and 124,000 per day.

The premium is also high in 12-month charter agreements. Last week, Okeanis Eco Tankers, owned by the Alafouzos family, reached 91,140 per day. This was followed by the Capital group of Evangelos Marinakis’ Aristotelis II, which was chartered at 100,000 dollars per day for a 12-month period. Yesterday, however, DHT Holdings announced the charter of the 2011-built DHT Redwood at 105,000 per day (ed., always for a one-year period) and during the day, John Fredriksen’s Frontline is linked to the charter of a 2019-built VLCC at 110,000 dollars per day.

VLCC rates have surged to levels not seen in years, surprising many market participants and reigniting the debate in the tanker industry. What initially looked like a normal recovery has turned into a sharp spike, driven by a combination of supply tightness, geopolitical risk and structural market changes.

A key reason is the significant supply constraints. Shrinking prompt lists in key loading areas mean that when charterers seek immediate cargo, there are fewer ships available, and the market reacts quickly with higher bids.