Data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) reveals a significant decline in the Greek merchant fleet, particularly in the sector of commercial ocean-going vessels.
Specifically, the fleet of large ships, each with a capacity exceeding 30,000 gross tonnage, dropped to 372 vessels with an aggregate capacity of 32.03 million gross tonnage as of March 2025.
This reflects a decrease from March 2024, when the fleet comprised 390 Greek-flagged ships over 30,000 GRT, totaling 33.1 million GRT.
A similar decline was observed in the month-to-month comparison, with 377 ships over 30,000 GRT and a combined capacity of 32.3 million GRT recorded in February 2025.
There was also a downward trend among vessels with capacities ranging from 20,000 to 30,000 GRT. ELSTAT reported 53 ships in March 2025 with a total capacity of 1.39 million GRT, compared to 56 ships in March 2024.
Overall Overview
The total number of ships in the Greek merchant fleet in March 2025 showed a slight increase of 0.8% compared to the same period in 2024.
This rise is attributed to an increase in the number of smaller vessels, specifically those between 100 and 500 GT, which saw an addition of 31 ships compared to last March.
Conversely, in terms of overall capacity, the total capacity of the Greek merchant fleet for vessels of 100 GT and above decreased by 3.1% in March 2025 compared to March 2024.
This follows a similar decline of 3.5% noted in the comparison between March 2024 and March 2023.
