Greek shipowners have made cautious moves, with sales mainly of older ships, in the first 15 days of 2025, while few purchases and new orders have been recorded.
For example, Navios has sold the oldest bulk carrier in its fleet to a Chinese company, with its revenue from ship sales, from 2022 onwards, now reaching 800 million dollars.
Neda Maritime has also sold the oldest tanker in its fleet to a Chinese company. This is the 109,300 dwt LR2 tanker “Suvretta”, which was built in 2008 and changed hands for more than 31 million dollars.
Target appears to be renewing its fleet, since after four sales within 2024 brokers record that it sold the 74,200 dwt “Mythos”, built in 2008.
A similar tactic seems to be followed by Contships, but this time in feeder containerships.
Shipping brokerage sources reported that the company is on track to sell two more feeders, built in 2006 and 2008 respectively and with a carrying capacity of 1,118 TEUs each, for more than 20 million dollars in total.
At the same time, it is in advanced discussions for the sale of the “ContsipMed”, built in 2004, for 7 million dollars.
Regarding purchases, Minerva Marine seems to have made a new investment in containerships with the purchase of “Chittagongmax”, with a carrying capacity of 2,433 TEUs. The ship is part of Minerva’’s mixed fleet, for approximately 40 million dollars and chartered for two years to Hapag-Lloyd.
The company also acquired the 1,800 TEUs “Lecangs Dolphin”, built in 2023, at the end of 2024. The ship was purchased for approximately 30 million dollars.
In terms of shipbuilding, the only new order that shipping brokers have seen in 2025 is that of Pleiades. The investment concerns three oil tankers with a carrying capacity of 73,000 dwt, thus increasing the company’s shipbuilding program to five tankers.
The market
The cautious moves, with selective sales of older ships at good prices, are perhaps indicative of the uncertainty that prevails globally, and of course in shipping.
Yannis Parganas (Intermodal) pointed out that the year began with uncertainty around the dry bulk and tanker sectors.
As he explained, “global geopolitical tensions continue to drive market volatility, currently shaping the climate.
In addition, new tariffs and sanctions that may be imposed by the incoming US president could further disrupt supply chains and exacerbate market uncertainty.”
Amidst this unpredictable landscape, capacity supply remains the only relatively stable factor.
Starting with the bulk carrier sector, a total of 541 vessels are expected to enter service in 2025, corresponding to a combined capacity of 38.33 million dwt. This represents an increase of 51 vessels compared to those delivered in 2024, along with an increase of 4.49 million dwt in terms of tonnage.
In terms of specific vessel sizes, the estimated deliveries in 2025 include 40 capesize vessels, 15 post-panamax vessels, 121 kamsarmax/panamax vessels and 196 ultramax/supramax vessels – the highest number recorded since 2016. In addition, 146 handysize vessels over 20k dwt are expected to enter service in 2025.
In tankers, a total of 43 crude oil tankers, with a total capacity of 7.15 million dwt, are expected to enter this year. This represents a significant increase compared to just 17 crude oil tankers delivered in 2024, with a total capacity of 2.52 million dwt, which was also the lowest number ever recorded. Specifically, deliveries in 2025 are expected to include 5 VLCCs, 30 Suezmaxes and 8 Aframaxes.
In addition, a total of 179 oil product tankers of over 10,000 dwt are expected to enter service in 2025, with a cumulative capacity of 12.09 million dwt. This represents a significant increase compared to the 49 vessels delivered in 2024, which had a total capacity of 3.37 million dwt.
