Greek shippers have invested some $16 bln in fleet expansion this year

Greek shipowners have spent an estimated $16 billion on new and used ships this year, per the Clarksons shipbrokers.

Clarksons Research calculates that $9 billion went toward orders for newbuilds and another $6.8 billion went to the secondhand market.

The increased investment in fleet expansion has been a global phenomenon this year, as according to the same data the overall expenditure on new and used vessels has reached $147 billion – i.e. twice the $74 billion spent last year, and 46% more than the average amount of $100 billion spent in each of the three previous years (from 2017 to 2019), Clarksons said.