Dominance of Greek shipowners on LNG ships

By Anastasia Vamvaka

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the West’s intention to become independent of Russian gas have widened the sea lane for LNG carriers.

However, once again, just before the time, Greek shipowners five years ago began to launch developments for the construction of LNG ships, with their instinct having brought them to the top of the world.

Analysts point out that, in addition to the need for “green” alternatives to conventional fuels, the demand for gas carriers is also affected by geopolitical uncertainty. Liquefied natural gas is already one of the main sources of energy, as well as a major source of fuel for maritime transport.

At the moment, the focus is on the Ukrainian crisis and how it will affect gas flows in Europe. Europe’s energy dependence on Russia is very high, reaching 40% -50% of its needs.

European governments have pledged to cut Russian gas imports by two-thirds by 2030, in eight years, an indication of how difficult it is to break free.

Developments, however, have overtaken the decisions, with Vladimir Putin pulling the rug under Europe’s feet, with the Doha closure of the pipelines in the form. The United States has pledged at least 50 billion cubic meters of LNG by 2030 for European countries to replace about a third of Russia’s gas supplies, according to US President Joe Biden after the EU summit. Ε. In the USA.

The data

Greek shipowners are constantly investing in new, energy efficient ships and environmentally friendly equipment. The average age of the Greek-owned fleet (9.99 years) is lower than the world average (10.28 years).

Shipbuilding orders from Greek shipowners amount to 173 ships (from 104 ships last year), corresponding to 17.3 million dwt3. More than a third of the oil tankers and almost one in six LNG carriers currently being built around the world will be delivered to Greek shipowners.

The timely investment in the construction of LNG tankers over the last few years has resulted in the most modern fleet in the world now being under their control.

According to the report of the Hellenic Shipowners’ Association, Greek shipowners have the largest shares in the international LNG market at 22.35%, while playing a leading role in the LPG industry, controlling 15.58% of the global fleet.

The shipyards

The shipbuilding rates of the new LNG and LPG ships of the Greek shipowners are constantly increasing, reaching record levels. According to a report by the data house VesselsValue, in 2021 the Greeks ordered 18 LNG carriers, with a total value of 3.63 billion dollars, and 14 LPG carriers, worth 823 million dollars.

According to analysts, this is an “explosive” increase compared to orders for just 1 LNG carrier and 4 LPG carriers, placed in 2020. In the first months of 2022, they have invested 2.8 billion dollars, while the total The value of the orders they implement exceeds 5 billion dollars.

At this time and according to the data of the Hellenic Shipping Co-operation Committee, 167 ships of various categories are being ordered in shipyards mainly in the Far East.

These numbers rank the Greeks at the top of the list of shipowners with the largest investments in the gas carriers industry, globally, for 2021. They are followed by the South Koreans with orders worth 2.45 billion in LNG carriers and 1.32 billion LPG carriers and the Japanese with investments worth 2.24 billion in LNG carriers and 1.1 billion in LPG carriers.

During 2021 the value of the Greek fleet in the LNG market increased by $ 2 billion, driven by strong fares in the spot. VesselsValue estimates the Greek LNG fleet at $ 19.1 billion.

Second comes the Japanese fleet, valued at $ 18.1 billion, followed by the Chinese, valued at $ 10.4 billion. In the LPG market, the Greek fleet is ranked fourth in terms of value.

In particular, it is valued at $ 3.29 billion. The most expensive fleets are the Chinese ($ 4.4 billion), the Singapore fleet ($ 5.9 billion) and the Japanese ($ 7.4 billion).

Republished from the special edition of Forbes magazine “Poseidonia 2022”

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