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The downward trend in the number of Greek shipping companies – that began in 2009 with the international financial crisis – persists, despite the continuous growth of the Greek-owned fleet in both capacity and the number of ships.
Although a large number of shipping companies that closed in the first period after 2009 are linked to the collapse of the freight market at that time, the most recent decreases are attributed to market concentration trends through mergers and acquisitions. This data, collected by Petrofin Research, a company specializing in the monitoring and analysis of shipping figures, shows that from 773 in 2009 Greek shipping companies numbered 588 in 2024. This is a decrease of 185 companies, a number that corresponds on average to one closure every month since 2009.
In reality, the number of companies that exited the market may be even higher, as other very large Greek shipping companies have created smaller subsidiaries in recent years, usually specialized in one sector.
Are there Greek companies that simply migrate abroad to avoid the increasingly complex European regulatory environment? According to the head of Petrofin Research, yes, they do exist, but they are not the norm. In particular, there are shipping companies of Greek interests that are now operating from the Persian Gulf, where both the regulatory and tax regimes are clearly more favorable. However, the dominant reason for the reduction in the number of Greek shipping companies – and especially at a time when their fleet continues to grow in terms of tonnage – is the process of concentration in the sector.
According to Petrofin Research, the Greek fleet at the end of 2024 increased by 2.9% on an annual basis in dwt terms, bringing the total to 488.6 million dwt. In absolute numbers, the fleet increased by 214 ships of all types and sizes compared to 85 ships in 2023 and 286 in 2022. However, the number of Greek companies decreased to 588 in 2024, from 592 in 2023, 599 in 2022 and 607 in 2021.
“The decline of companies with one or two ships continues,” and “the main reason is that this fleet size is considered unsustainable in the long term due to economic disadvantages of scale and increased regulations, which require larger companies with more personnel,” Petrofin Research states in its study.