Greece has held a prominent place in shipping for many decades. What makes this more significant is that the country’s considerable role on the international maritime stage is disproportionate to its size. The capacity of the Greek merchant fleet, at more than 5,000 vessels, makes Greece the largest shipowning nation, and its shipping sector (including ships that are Greek owned and Greek managed) collectively accounts for 20 percent of global deadweight tonnage.
How does a nation that represents less than 0.5 percent of global GDP come to oversee 20 percent of the world’s oceangoing cargo capacity? It’s a situation akin to Switzerland’s prominence in watchmaking (0.8 percent of global GDP, 50 percent of global watchmaking value) or Germany’s hold on luxury automobile manufacturing (about 4 percent of global GDP, 65 percent of premium-branded vehicle production).
Given shipping’s importance to the world economy—90 percent of transported goods, by volume, are moved by sea—Greece’s maritime community plays a significant role in global trade flows. And Greek shipping has notable domestic impact too. It’s the country’s largest economic sector (as measured by global revenue), responsible for about 6 percent of private employment, while generating most of its income from abroad.
How might other nations with relatively small economies learn from Greece and achieve similar success in individual sectors? To better understand the dynamics that underpin Greece’s maritime achievements, we interviewed over 50 senior stakeholders involved in the Greek shipping sector—including shipowners, shipbrokers, shipyard managers, maritime lawyers, and seafarers. These conversations revealed a unique approach to leadership, entrepreneurship, and collaboration, bolstered by adherence to tradition.
This article provides an overview of Greek shipping, offers insights into how the sector has found success, and explores opportunities for further growth. It is the first in a series of publications and events based on our comprehensive study of the Greek shipping industry.
Greek shipping is a powerful economic engine
Over the past decade, Greece’s maritime sector has consistently held one of the top positions globally in terms of shipping capacity, as measured by deadweight tonnage. By contrast, the country itself generates less than 1 percent of the world’s seaborne trade (Exhibit 1).
Notable economic results have flowed from this position. Our analysis indicates that Greek shipping generates around $40 billion in annual gross revenues. The sector is sizable: more than 20 Greek shipping companies are listed in foreign capital markets, representing a total of more than $9 billion in market capitalization. And more than 200,000 foreign seafarers are employed on Greek vessels. The sector also includes more than 750 shipmanagement companies, of which about 100 manage more than ten vessels.
Furthermore, specific areas of shipping are synonymous with Greek shipping. According to Clarksons, Greece controls the world’s largest tanker and liquefied natural gas fleets by capacity. It also has the second-largest dry bulk and liquefied petroleum gas fleets. Our analysis of shipping movements and trade flows suggests that about 40 percent of crude oil imported to Europe by sea comes via Greek tankers.
We estimate that the Greek shipping sector contributes about $14 billion in value domestically, and generates about 150,000 jobs, directly and indirectly through shipping activities (jobs as seafarers, and onshore in shipmanagement and the broader shipping cluster), reinvestment of shipping capital in other sectors (including hospitality, media, sports, energy, real estate), and societal contributions (investments and philanthropy) (Exhibit 2). The sector’s contribution is not only in the number of jobs generated, but in the relative value of those jobs, as many are well-paid positions. The international shipping industry maintains a robust cluster in Greece, including shipyards, brokerages, law firms, banks, and technology providers, among others, with shipping-related employment generating many high-paying jobs.
Common building blocks for success
Given these contributions to the local economy and global trade, it’s worth asking whether there are specific characteristics, strategies, or choices that have allowed this maritime sector to thrive. In our conversations with Greek shipping experts, we identified several common factors that are foundational to Greece’s maritime achievements.
A century-old maritime track record, supported by government
Greece has deep roots in shipping, dating back to ancient times. Particularly after World War II, the shipping ecosystem was viewed as a source of stable employment for Greeks. This gave rise to a generation of Greek maritime professionals, such as captains, chief engineers and, in due course, suppliers of technical and professional services. At the same time, exposure to international trade provided Greek seafarers with access to opportunities, and incomes, to transition from being seafarers to shipowners. Meanwhile, the Greek government created conditions to support the industry. For example, under Law 89/1967, foreign companies may establish an office in Greece without having to set up a company under Greek law, which has tax benefits. This arrangement has aided the growth of shipmanagement in Greece.
Collaborative and coordinated community
Our interviews revealed descriptions of the Greek shipping community as being part of an ecosystem of institutes and universities, and built on a strong maritime tradition, with shipping companies usually being family owned. Companies often exchange data and information, and benchmark their performance with each other. And procurement alliances exist where Greek-controlled vessels buy items such as paint and fuel together, leveraging joint buying power to secure better prices. Industry bodies, such as the Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS) reinforce this community focus. The UGS has traditionally supported and fostered policies ensuring a competitive business environment, free trade, adherence to global rules and regulations, and first and foremost, safety of life at sea and a sustainable environment.
Agile and adaptive business models
Greek shipping companies tend to follow tried-and-tested models that focus on their strengths and areas of expertise which often include asset ownership and technical management. The majority deal in “tramp/commodity” trade—a common shipping offering in which vessels have no fixed routes, itineraries, or schedules, and instead are available to quickly seize opportunities to serve varied customer needs at short notice. Most Greek shipping companies also maintain in-house management for the technical and crewing aspects of their operations.
Models that allow for flexibility, agility, and quick decision making have contributed to the sector’s success.
Entrepreneurship and investments
Greek shipowners are generally not risk averse; this entrepreneurial mindset can be rewarded with commensurate returns. In a highly volatile industry, Greek shipowners have been willing to invest earnings in ship acquisitions even amid economic downturns. For example, one of the leading diversified Greek shipping companies has a history of investment and reinvestment according to market cycles. The company’s mixed fleet of bulk carriers, container ships, and chemical tankers has grown—and then been sold during market upturns—several times. Overall, the sector exhibits a similar mindset, illustrated by the fact that Greece is third in the global order book for 2023 and 2024 for bulkers and tankers.
Speed of decision making
An owner of a Greek shipping company is very often also its CEO. These leaders, who have much skin in the game, dive into details and become deeply involved in management decisions. Family ownership—which is common for Greek shipping companies—can also provide leaders with significant flexibility and autonomy in decision making, enabling quick action with little bureaucracy.
What could other nations and communities learn from Greece?
Other nations with relatively small economies and industry-specific expertise could draw inspiration from Greek shipping to elevate their local industries to greater relevance on the global stage. The following actions could help them do so.
Look for organic fits. Greece’s established maritime heritage gives the sector a dependable base of knowledge and talent to build on. Other countries might look to concentrate on development within industries where historical roots are strong.
Create strong communities. Collaboration, network effects, collective power, and development of best practices are among the advantages that flow from a strong community orientation.
Get in on the ground floor. Many Greek entrepreneurs became involved in shipping after World War II, in an era where few independent entities were actively engaging in the global commodity trade. Currently nascent sectors might present opportunities for smaller economies, since early movers can become major stakeholders.
Embrace risk when well-informed. Greek shipping leaders have been willing to take calculated risks, even in uncertain contexts or economic downturns. Bold, agile moves could help companies from other small economies achieve disproportionate impacts.
Get hands on. Greek shipowners tend to be deeply involved in decision making in their companies. They are well-informed, plugged in, and engaged. Nurturing hands-on leadership could help industries in other countries identify strategic opportunities and execute on them quickly.
Building on strengths to increase impact
Greece is already a strong shipping force. Yet, our interviewees highlighted several areas for additional opportunities in a rapidly evolving global environment. By building on its success and pursuing digital transformation, the Greek shipping sector could increase its impact on the country’s economy and its contribution to global shipping.
For example, collectively, the sector could consider taking on greater management of foreign vessels. Athens is the largest shipmanagement center globally, controlling more than 5,000 deep-sea vessels, 90 percent of which are Greek-owned. That leaves about 500 vessels, 10 percent, that are foreign owned. By comparison, more than 70 percent of vessels managed out of Singapore and Hong Kong are of foreign origin.
There could also be opportunity for the sector to increase its shipyard capacity, aiming to claim a higher share of the dry docking and repair market for ships passing through the Mediterranean Sea.
A third area that could spur further growth is maritime technology and digitization. Technological advances are changing many realms within shipping, including ship design, ship repair, and fleet deployment. And maritime-specific venture capital firms are exploring investments in patentable nautical technology. So far, around 2 percent of maritime tech startups were founded in Greece. Given the nation’s roots in maritime culture, and deep industry expertise, this could be an area of opportunity to lean into.
Decarbonization presents another opportunity. Although many emissions reduction targets exist in the maritime world, there is uncertainty about how to reach them. New fuels, ship designs, route-mapping approaches, and other advances could be brought to bear. New investments will likely be made. There could be significant market share to claim.
These efforts, and more, could enable the Greek shipping sector to continue to build upon its strengths and further reinforce itself—ensuring its robustness over time, maintaining its innovation and talent capabilities, and its central positioning (Exhibit 3).
Several strategic initiatives for each goal could help to future-proof the sector and realize opportunities related to increasing management and technical capacity, and meeting decarbonization targets.
The Greek shipping sector has a long history to build on to ensure its future growth and prosperity. All stakeholders have an opportunity to draw on its existing expertise, entrepreneurial culture, and ways of doing business to chart the sector’s future collaboratively and strategically.
