Deloitte Study Highlights Greek Shipping Sector’s Impact

The importance of the Greek shipping fleet in terms of contribution to the Greek economy and to society as well as ways to maximize the benefits of the sector was the focus of a Deloitte study presented at the 5^th Naftemporiki Shipping Conference last week.

Deloitte’s “Impact Analysis of the Greek Shipping Industry” highlights the sector’s importance in terms of direct, indirect and multiplied benefits for the Greek economy, as well as for being a leading job creator and employer.

Greek shipping holds the lead in the European Union, accounting for 53 percent of total EU interest capacity with Greek shipowners controlling approximately 20 percent of the global fleet (in terms of capacity).

Since 2011, the country’s shipping industry has contributed over 55 billion euros to the balance of payments with the Greek flag still the second most preferred flag in EU (behind Malta) ranking ninth globally and the Greek fleet number 1 in terms of value, surpassing the 100-billion-dollar milestone in 2019.

The sector’s direct contribution comes to 7.3 billion euros, indirect and induced contribution to 5.6 billion euros.

As for its contribution in terms of jobs, shipping accounts for more than 3 percent of total Greek employment: 29.5 thousand direct jobs, 130.6 thousand jobs created or sustained, and 160.1 total Jobs created or sustained.

Greece also holds a strategic position in global trade accounting for 0.16 percent of world population and 0.26 percent of Gross World Product.

At the same time, Deloitte’s analysts note that turnover generated by the country’s shipyards came to 600 million euros a year, which however has dropped to 100 million euros, while Greece’s 5,000 shipowners spend approximately 1.35 billion dollars a year on maintenance and repair at shipyards abroad.

Overall, the Greek shipping industry has contributed 55.782 billion euros to the balance of services in recent years. More specifically,  according to the analysis, over the 2011-2018 period, the net balance of came to 55 billion euros and ranged between 5.8 billion euros and 8.6 billion euros per year.

In the meantime, the Greek-owned fleet is surpassing global growth rates in terms of supply – both in number of ships and in available capacity.

Indicatively, in 2014 the capacity growth index was at 100 reaching 122 in 2019, compared 117 of global fleet demonstrating impressive growth rates in capacity.