The Greeks have led the charge to order new ships this year, according to analysis out today from online pricing portal, VesselsValue. Owners from the Mediterranean nation account for nearly 30% of all orders placed to date.
VesselsValue Deals database shows that Greek owners have placed 35 orders for new bulkers and tankers since the start of 2017. Globally only 119 orders have been placed.
Top of the Greek list to date has been Chartworld Shipping followed by Enesel and a host of other well known names backed by the likes of George Economou and John Angelicoussis.
Owners from the US and Singapore ranked second and third in newbuild ordering so far this year, according to VesselsValue data.
With private equity choosing recently to eschew ordering new ships in favour of secondhand tonnage, this has led to a hole in Asian yards’ orderbooks and some very cheap deals have since emerged for newbuilds.
“In early 2017 the cash rich Greek community took advantage of this, securing a number of orders at competitive prices,” VesselsValue said in a release today, adding: “As we progress through 2017, yard capacity has reduced but continued buying demand from the private sector remains. This is one of the major factors that has led to the increase in newbuilding prices over the past five months.”
