Greek Ship Owners Newbuilding Orders Down by 65% This Year
Newbuilding contracting activity from Greek ship owners has declined sharply so far this year. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Xclusiv said that “Greek shipowners continue to demonstrate a strong and strategic presence in the global shipbuilding market, holding one of the largest national orderbooks in the industry. As of the latest data, Greek interests account for 292 tanker orders, representing approximately 27% of the global tanker orderbook, making them the top investing nation in this segment. In the bulk carrier sector, Greek shipowners have 167 vessels on order, which corresponds to about 15% of the global bulker orderbook, securing a solid position among the top players in dry cargo shipping. In the LPG segment, they have 50 vessels on order—roughly 28% of the global LPG orderbook—while in LNG, their 47 vessels make up about 13% of global LNG orders”.
Source: Xclusiv
According to Xclusiv, “these figures underline a broad, diversified investment approach that spans traditional and transitional fuel trades. In total, the Greek orderbook exceeds 600 vessels across all segments, reflecting not only a fleet renewal strategy but also an ambition to remain competitive amid regulatory and environmental shifts. Unlike many other national clusters, Greeks place orders strategically across shipyards in Korea, China, and Japan, ensuring optimal delivery schedules and advanced specifications. The Greek orderbook is not just large—it is visionary, disciplined, and deeply aligned with long-term market fundamentals. Despite this historically strong position and diversified investment across vessel types, recent figures from early 2025 suggest a marked slowdown in Greek newbuilding activity, pointing to a more cautious or recalibrated short-term outlook”.
The shipbroker added that “a significant downturn in newbuilding orders placed by Greek owners in the first four months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024 has been revealed. In early 2024, Greek owners placed a total of 97 orders across four main vessel sectors—Bulk Carrier, Tanker, Container, and Gas (LNG/LPG)—with shipyards in South Korea, China, Japan, and Vietnam. However, this figure dropped sharply to just 34 orders in the corresponding period of 2025, reflecting a steep decline of over 65%. The reduction is particularly striking in China, which received 59 orders in 2024 but only 12 in 2025, with tanker orders falling dramatically from 42 to zero. Similarly, LPG orders disappeared entirely in 2025 after totalling 22 in the previous year. While tanker orders in South Korea increased from 8 to 17, and container orders re-emerged with 12 placed in China (compared to 4 in 2024), these gains were not enough to offset the broader downward trend. LNG orders remained steady at four units in South Korea both years”.
Source: Xclusiv
Xclusiv added that “focusing on specific vessel types, Greek tanker orders in the first four months of 2025 comprised 2 Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC), 13 Suezmax vessels, and 2 Medium Range 2 (MR2) tankers. This contrasts with the same period in 2024, which saw a broader distribution of tanker orders, including 6 VLCCs, 16 Suezmax vessels, 10 Aframax/LR2 tankers, 7 Panamax/LR1 tankers, 5 MR2 tankers, 5 MR1 tankers, and 5 small tankers. In the container sector, Greek owners ordered 10 Neopanamax vessels and 2 Feeder vessels in the first four months of 2025. This is a notable shift from the first four months of 2024, during which only 4 Neopanamax vessels were ordered. The dry bulk sector also experienced a significant change, with just 1 Handysize vessel ordered by Greek owners in the first four months of 2025, compared to the first four months of 2024 which saw orders for 10 Kamsarmax vessels, 1 Ultramax vessel, and 2 Handysize vessels”, the shipbroker concluded.
Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide
