By L. Karageorgos
Greek shipowners and Greek-controlled shipping companies continued to hold an overwhelming lead in terms of vessel sales and purchases over the first eight months of 2018, with Chinese interests a distant second.
According to Allied-Shipbroking, Greek interests shelled out 2.82 billion USD for the purchase of 176 vessels, of all types, over the period. Percentage wise, figure accounts for 18.3 percent of all vessels that changed hands during this period, or 24.7 percent of investment for the purchase of second-hand vessels.
Of the 176 vessels, 107 were bulk carriers (worth 1.46 billion USD), 42 were tankers (900 million USD), 20 were container ships, and four LNG carriers.
Chinese interests came in second, purchasing 146 vessels over the Jan-Aug period, with an outlay of 1.19 billion USD.
