Greece is constantly strengthening its position as a shipping center. In the wider Athens and Piraeus area, approximately 600 shipping companies are based, managing more than 5,500 commercial vessels, making Greece the largest ship management center in the world.
Alongside them, there are also offices from foreign groups. From large charterers, third party management shipbrokers, to law firms, various services and of course the largest classification societies in the world.
In fact, one of the large charterers, Norden, has recently announced that it is opening an office in Athens.
“This move marks another milestone in our continued growth, serving customers around the world,” the Scandinavian shipping giant said in a brief statement on its LinkedIn page. It is a group that manages 542 ships, having developed a very strong tanker pool.
Regarding the reasons that lead shipping giants to establish offices in Greece, shipping industry executives pointed out to “N” that this is due to two reasons.
On the one hand, the institutional framework that has become friendlier in recent years and on the other hand, the intense competition that leads large companies to the decision to gain direct contact with their largest customers, the Greek shipowners.
Norden is not the only large charterer that has opened offices in Athens over the last years.
A similar case is Oldendorff, which specializes in dry bulk cargo, having a total of 695 ships chartered.
But also the Japanese NYK, which has had a physical presence in our country over the last two years.
Another giant, Trafigoura, one of the most important traders and charterers in the world, has been present in Greece for many years.
There are also shipping agencies, with the latest major addition being SSY, which opened offices in Greece in 2022, while Clarksons, another giant in shipbroking, has had a long-standing presence in our country.
300 shipping agencies
It is noted that more than 300 shipping agencies operate in Greece.
A major deal was recently announced: Intermodal absorbed Golden Destiny.
V Ships, one of the largest groups in the world in ship management, has had a strong presence in our country for many years, while in 2021 the ship management company Diana Wilhelmsen Management relocated from Cyprus. The company was founded in 2015 as a 50-50 joint venture with Diana Shipping Inc.
In 2023, Navilands was also founded, which, with the support of Costamare, is constantly strengthening its position in third party management, while – according to information from “N” – is preparing to make major transfers from the Greek market.
But also at the level of classification societies, which of course have been present in our country for many decades, the position of their offices in Athens is constantly being strengthened.
Classification societies such as ABS, Bureau Veritas, DNV, Lloyds Register, Rina have upgraded their offices in Greece, turning them into hubs for the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East.
Both the Chinese and Japanese classification societies also have offices in Greece.
Among the top shipping centers
The wider Athens/Piraeus region was ranked seventh among the largest shipping centers in the world in 2024, according to the 2024 Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development (ISCDI) annual report.
The rise of one position of Athens-Piraeus compared to 2023 is due to the fact that Greece continues to play one of the most important roles in the global shipping sector, with more than 1,000 shipping agencies based either in Athens or in the wider Attica region.
It is noted that the report calculated, in addition to shipping agencies and fleet, ports, shipyards, but also services to shipping.
The big difference between Greece, which is in seventh place, and Singapore, which has consistently been in first place for more than 10 years, is the great power it possesses in both the port and shipbuilding sectors.
