Greek shipowners top list of buyers of used vessels in Jan-March

Greek shipowners remained at the top of the chart for buyers of second-hand ships over the first quarter of the year.

Allied Shipbroking calculations put the funds spent by Greek shipowners for the acquisition of over 65 vessels to almost 900 million dollars in the January-March period, out of a total of 414 used ocean-going ships sold in that quarter. Data show that Greek-owned companies acquired 45 dry bulk carriers, 15 tankers, six container ships and one liquefied gas carrier.

At the same time, Greek shipowners trailed only the Germans and the Japanese to come third as the biggest sellers, parting with 37 vessels for 674.2 million dollars.

The second biggest buyers after the Greeks were the Chinese who invested 607 million dollars in 53 ships, followed by the Germans who bought 43 vessels for some 272 million dollars.

A large part of the investments Greek shippers made in used vessels was funded by the sale of older or other types of ships, by ship-breaking revenues and through borrowing. Notably a number of big Greek tankers, built in the early 1990s, have recently headed to Asian scrap yards.