As all but three ships, a bulker and two LNGs, fly the Greek flag, in dwt terms the Angelicoussis fleet ranks as 14th on the list of fleets by flag, wedged between Japan and Norway and ahead of Germany and South Korea. Of course, remove the fleet from the Greek-flag fleet and Greece drops from sixth, the world’s highest national flag, to nine, just below China.
According to a study by Greek publication, Naftiliaki, Angelicoussis leads a pack of 66 Greek ownerships controlling fleets of more than 1m dwt. Indeed, the bosses of Greek shipping companies are in charge of one in six oceangoing ships trading around the world and, in most of the trade sectors, they are leading players.
Naftiliaki reports that at beginning of May the ‘tonne millionaires’ were two more than at the same time in 2012 with six newcomers and the others dropping below the 1m dwt.
Consolidation is a feature of the group. The 66 fleets control 220.5m dwt and 2,154 ships, or 83.49% of the total Greek dwt and 58.58% of the ships run by Greek interests.
The study points out the picture of strength is unlikely to change much in the near future with many of the bigger players ready to add to their fleets as, ”opportunities appear” thanks to the financial woes of others under pressure to sell vessels in the name of survival.
At present the stable of tankers and bulk carriers controlled by George Economou is second on the ‘tonne millionaires’ ladder with a fleet of 13.85m dwt and 97 ships, some 2.3m dwt and four ships more than 12 months ago. This fleet operating as TMS Tankers, TMS Dry, TMS Bulkers, and Nasdaq-listed DryShips, does not however, include the ever more important, drillship operation, Ocean Rig, on the grounds “this is completely separate” though Economou is president and ceo of Ocean Rig. For the record, the outfit comprises, two fifth-generation semi-submersible drilling rigs and four ultra deep water drill ships with three new ultra deep water drill ships to deliver from Samsung Heavy Industries in 2013.
Leading lady is Angeliki Frangou who is buying ships, ordering ships and, more recently, as readers are aware, revolutionising the way banks deal with distress ship assets. The Navios group occupies position four on the ladder, with a fleet of 94 vessels of 9.6m dwt, the same position as last year, though the fleet is larger this time. The Frangou-controlled affiliate, Hidrovia South American Logistics, is not included. This South American operation runs some 250 barges, pushboats and inland oil tankers, with Frangou keen to take advantage of South America’s regional cabotage needs.
The struggling interests backed by Peter Georgiopoulos, sit at number four in 2013, down a position, 220,000dwt and four ships, but the combined fleet of Genmar / Baltic Trading / Genco, is the largest in ship terms, with 102 ships still in the group. However, with the tanker arm now some 98% owned by Oaktree Capital, and the two bulk carrier operations gaining a far wider ownership base, qualification in a “Greek table” of this now almost entirely US-based owner is being questioned.
Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. Seatrade, a trading name of Informa Markets (UK) Limited. Add Seatrade Maritime News to your Google News feed.
