GREECE has retained its position as the world's leading maritime nation for the fourth consecutive year.
According to figures compiled by Greek shipping magazine Naftika Chronika, the Greek-controlled fleet comprised 2,793 ocean-going vessels totalling about 61.5 million gross tonnes (GRT) at the end of last year.
This compares with 1,294 ships totalling 33.9 million GRT owned and/or managed by members of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association.
The Greek ships are registered under 17 different flags, while the Hong Kong fleet is spread over 31 registers.
During the year, the Greek-owned fleet increased by 134 ships of 6.03 million GRT, whilst the national register gained 51 ships and 3,763,605 GRT, raising the percentage of Greek-owned tonnage from 43.47 per cent to 45.32 per cent.
Naftika Chronika does not include in its statistics ships of less than 1,000 GRT. Counting these, as well as passenger ships, tugboats and fishing boats, it is estimated the fleet has an additional 150 vessels of some two million GRT.
Last year, Greek owners took delivery of 18 newbuildings totalling 1.38 million GRT and purchased 313 second-hand ships of 9.58 million GRT.