Greeks and Chinese monopolize second hand ship purchases in bulkers

One in two bulk carriers that have changed hands so far this year have ended up with Greek or Chinese shipping interests.

Greek and Chinese shipowners monopolize the Bulkers sales with the Greeks leading (in investment value) and the Chinese following. Greece and China are, after all, the two largest shipping powers on the planet, with Greek-owned shipping accounting for 17% of the world (in gt terms) and the Chinese following with 15%. Of course, China has 1.4 billion inhabitants and Greece only 10 million.

According to the data of the brokerage house Allied Shipbroking, from the beginning of the year until November 14, 1,716 used (second hand) ships of all categories changed hands, of which almost half, 824 were bulkers. Of the 824 bulk carriers, 207 ended up with Greek and 214 with Chinese shipowners. The Greeks invested 3.6 billion. dollars for the purchase of these ships and the Chinese shipowners 2.9 billion. which means that they bought smaller and older ships from the Greeks.

This “opposition” between Greeks and Chinese in bulkers is also expressed in the other categories of ships since the two nationalities are the most active in buying and selling. In all categories, however, the Greeks are ahead. Thus, out of the 1,716 ships that changed hands so far, in 2021, 330 ended up in Greek interests and 302 in Chinese ones. The Greeks invested 6.5 billion. USD and the Chinese 4.24 billion. In addition to the 207 bulkers, Greek shipowners bought, among others, 82 tankers and 28 container vessels. In addition to the 214 bulkers, the Chinese bought, among other things, 56 tankers and just five containerships.

Finally, it should be noted that the interest for bulkers is intense due to the positive expectations that shipowners have for the market as they expect an increase in demand for iron ore, due to the implementation of major infrastructure projects in developed economies.

The trend of increased buying and selling in bulkers was recorded in 2020 as well as in 2019 when bulkers and tankers “competed” for the top as in a total of 1,395 ships transferred 518 were Bulkers and 501 tankers. The global bulkers fleet makes up 43% of the global fleet consisting of 95,000 ships over 100 gt and tankers make up 29% of the global fleet.