Greek shipping
Economy of Greece |
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Overview |
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History |
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Many Greek shipping companies have their headquarters located either in Athens or London and New York City, and are run by Greek traditional shipping families which are notable for their great wealth and influence in the international maritime industry. The 7th Secretary General (2003-2011) of the International Maritime Organization was Efthymios Mitropoulos.
Historic background
The Greeks have been a maritime nation since antiquity, as the mountainous landscape of the mainland, and the limited farming area and the extended coastline of Greece led people to shipping. The geographical position of the region on the crossroads of ancient sea lanes in the eastern Mediterranean, the multiplicity of islands and the proximity to other advanced civilizations helped shape the maritime nature of the Greek nation at an early stage. In Greece and the wider Aegean, international trade existed from the Minoan and Mycenean times in the Bronze Age. The presence of goods such as pottery, gold, copper objects far away from their area of provenance attests to this wide-ranging network of shipping transport and trade that existed between the Greek mainland and the Greek islands .[8] The Greeks soon came to dominate the maritime trade in the region, gradually expanding it along the shores of the Mediterranean to Egypt, Phoenicia, Asia Minor, the Black Sea, and establishing colonies. The prowess of the ancient Greek navy was primarily displayed in naval battles during the Persian wars, the Delian League era and the Peloponnesian war. In the following centuries, a large part of the sea trade of the Roman Empire was carried out by the Greeks, while they continued to be involved and play a major role in shipping during the era of the Byzantine Empire as well.
Ottoman era and later
In the times of the
The most prominent of the Greek cities that emerged as maritime powers were those from western Greece, primarily
Post-Napoleonic and Wars of Independence
Greek merchants also provided the material basis for the Neohellenic
In the wake of the nineteenth century
Accompanying these Greek-run fleets were local expatriate communities of workmen and agent-translators who managed the unfamiliar customs and bureaucracy in foreign ports. In these times before the telegraph, this network gave the Greek shippers advance warning of events and allowed them to control news and prices in advance of their competitors.[10]
The financial crisis of the 1860s saw some of these businesses collapse.[11] Nonetheless, the tradition of endowment continued, and it was shipping that funded various institutions, such as the National Library of Greece.
These changes heralded a move by some of the Chios families out of shipping and into financing or broking, allowing Ionian-descended families to establish their own networks and shipping dynasties, most notably the Vaglianos, Ziffa and Sechiari, with funding routed from the London financial markets.
Twentieth century
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Many changes and upheavals affected their markets: the
The
After the end of World War II, the Greek-run fleets were able to re-establish themselves under their national flag. The changing dynamics saw them more closely aligned with their own national state and the establishment of the Greek Merchant Marine service.
During 2010–2011, in terms of ship categories, Greek companies had 32.5% of the world's tankers[12] and 23.8% of the world's bulk carriers (in dwt).[12] An additional equivalent of 20.05% of the world's tanker dwt was on order,[12] with another 14.1% of bulk carriers also on order.[12] Shipping is one of the country's most important industries. In 2010–2011, it accounted for 8% of GDP,[12] employed about 290,000 people (8% of the workforce),[13] and represented 1/3 of the country's trade deficit.[13] Earnings from shipping amounted to €35.4 billion in 2014,[12] while between 2000 and 2010 Greek shipping contributed[citation needed] a total of €280 billion[12] (almost the country's public debt in 2014 and 4.5 times the receipts from the European Union in the period 2000–2013).[12] A European Community Shipowners' Association report for 2013–2014 reveals that the Greek flag is the first-most-used internationally for shipping, while it ranks first in the EU;[12] the same ECSA report showed that there are approximately 950 Greek shipping companies in operation.
Counting shipping as quasi-exports and in terms of monetary value, Greece has ranked 4th globally in 2011 having "exported" shipping services worth $37,704,132; only Denmark, Germany and South Korea have ranked higher during that year.[14]
Year | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006-2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Global ranking[14] | 5th | 5th | 5th | 4th | 3rd | 5th | -b | 5th | 6th | 4th |
"Exports" (US$ million)[14] | 7,558.995 | 7,560.559 | 7,527.175 | 10,114.736 | 15,402.209 | 16,127.623 | -b | 17,033.714 | 18,559.292 | 17,704.132 |
"Exports" (€ million)[14] | 8,172.559 | 8,432.670 | 7,957.654 | 8,934.660 | 12,382.636 | 12,949.869 | -b | 12,213.786 | 13,976.558 | 12,710.859 |
GDP (€ million)[15] | 137,930.1 | 146,427.6 | 156,614.3 | 172,431.8 | 185,265.7 | 193,049.7b | n/a | 231,081.2p | 222,151.5p | 208,531.7p |
"Exports" as %GDP | 5.93 | 5.76 | 5.08 | 5.18 | 6.68 | 6.71 | n/a | 5.29 | 6.29 | 6.10 |
b source reports break in time series; p source characterises data as provisional |
International Maritime Organization
The 7th Secretary General (2003–2011) of the International Maritime Organization, Efthymios Mitropoulos, was from Greece.
References
- ^ "Κορυφαία ναυτιλιακή χώρα στον κόσμο παραμένει η Ελλάδα – Το 21% του παγκόσμιου στόλου με 5.514 πλοία" [Greece remains the world's leading shipping country – 21% of the world fleet with 5,514 ships]. NewMoney.gr. 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Greek domination in the international maritime industry (original: Ελληνική πρωτιά στην παγκόσμια ναυτιλιακή αγορά)". Naftemporiki. 5 December 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ Polemis, Spyros M. "The History of Greek Shipping". Greece.org. Retrieved 9 April 2007.
- ^ Press release. "Greece Shipping". Reuters.
- ^ Press release. "The History of Greek Shipping". National Bank of Greece. Greek Shipping Is Modernized to Remain a Global Leader and Expand Its Contribution to the Greek Economy. Archived from the original on 31 August 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Lloyd's List Top 100 Most Influential People in the Shipping Industry. Edition 6, page 61". Lloyd's List. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
- ^ "International domination, albeit with obstacles, for Greek maritime industry (original: Παγκόσμιες πρωτιές, μετ' εμποδίων, για τη ναυτιλία των Ελλήνων)". Liberal. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ "Trade in Ancient Greece". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica, history of Greece, Merchant middle class, 2008, O.Ed.
- ISBN 0-415-00018-1.
- ^ Depredations: Overend, Gurney & Co and the Greek and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, by Stefanos Xenos (1869)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "ECSA Annual report 2010-2011" (PDF). European Community Shipowners' Association. ecsa.be. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- ^ a b "Greek shipping is modernized to remain a global leader and expand its contribution to the Greek economy". National Bank of Greece. nbg.gr. 11 May 2006. Archived from the original on 31 August 2007.
- ^ a b c d "ITC Trade Map: List of exporters for Sea Transport, i.e. country ranking in value of exports (services; data code 206; yearly times series)". WTO–ITC. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- ^ "GDP – Current prices [nama_gdp_c]". Eurostat. 18 May 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
Further reading
- Ardeleanu, Constantin (2014). "The Opening and Development of the Black Sea for International Trade and Shipping (1774–1853)". Euxeinos. 14. University of St. Gallen: 30–54.
- Chatziioannou, Maria Christina (2005). "Crossing Empires: Greek Merchant Networks Before the Imperialistic Expansion, 1770-1870". In Baghdiantz-MacCabe, Ina; Harlaftis, Gelina; Minoglou, Ioanna Pepelasis (eds.). Diaspora Entrepreneurial Networks: Four Centuries of History (Paperback). London: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781859738801.
- Delis, Apostolos (2014). "From Lateen to Square Rig: The evolution of the Greek-owned merchant fleet and its ships in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries". The Mariner's Mirror. 100 (1). London: Taylor & Francis: 44–58. S2CID 162358756.
- Economou, Emmanoui M.L.; Kyriazis, Nicholas C.; Prassa, Annita (2016), The Greek Merchant Fleet as a National Navy During the War of Independence 1800-1830 (PDF), MPRA
- Galani, Katerina; Papadopoulou, Alexandra, eds. (2022). Greek Maritime History: From the Periphery to the Centre (Hardback). Brill's Studies in Maritime History. Vol. 11. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-46771-2.
- Hale, John R. (2009). Lords of the sea: the epic story of the Athenian Navy and the birth of democracy. New York: Viking. ISBN 9780670020805.
- Harlaftis, Gelina (2019). Creating Global Shipping: Aristotle Onassis, the Vagliano Brothers and the Business of Shipping, c.1820-1970 (Hardback). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781108475396.
- Harlaftis, Gelina (2007). "From Diaspora Traders to Shipping Tycoons: The Vagliano Bros". Business History Review. 81 (2). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press: 237–268. S2CID 154649118.
- Harlaftis, Gelina (2015). Greek Shipowners and Greece 1945-1975: From Separate Development to Mutual Interdependence (Hardback). Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9781474241397.
- Harlaftis, Gelina; Papakonstantinou, Katerina (eds.). Η ναυτιλία των Ελλήνων, 1700-1821 [Greek Shipping, 1700-1821. The Heyday before the Greek Revolution] (Paperback) (in Greek). Athens: Kedros Publications. ISBN 978-960-04-4318-9.
- Harlaftis, Gelina (2005). "Mapping the Greek Maritime Diaspora from the Early Eighteenth to the Late Twentieth Centuries". In Baghdiantz-MacCabe, Ina; Harlaftis, Gelina; Minoglou, Ioanna Pepelasis (eds.). Diaspora Entrepreneurial Networks: Four Centuries of History (Paperback). Oxford: Berg Publishers. ISBN 9781859738801.
- Harlaftis, Gelina (1994). "Patterns of Ownership and Finance in the Greek-Owned Deep-Sea going fleet, 1880-1914". Research in Maritime History. 6. St. John’s Newfoundland: IMEHA: 139–165.
- Harlaftis, Gelina (2008). "Τhe Greek Shipping Sector c. 1850-2000". Research in Maritime History. 37. St. John’s Newfoundland: IMEHA: 79–104.
- Laiou, Sophia; Harlaftis, Gelina (2008). "Ottoman State Policy in Mediterranean Trade and Shipping, c. 1780-1820". In Mazower, Mark (ed.). Networks of Power in Modern Greece. London: Hurst Publishers. ISBN 9781850659228.
- Theotokas, Ioannis; Harlaftis, Gelina (2004). "European Family Firms in International Business: British and Greek Tramp-Shipping Firms". Business History. 46 (2). Taylor & Francis: 219–255. S2CID 154315315.
- Theotokas, Ioannis; Harlaftis, Gelina (2009). Leadership in World Shipping: Greek Family Firms in International Business. Houndmills Basingstoke, England: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-57642-1.
External links
- History of Greek shipping
- Greek freighter DIAMANTIS, sunk on 3 October 1939 by German U-Boat U-35
- Historic house flags of Greek shipping companies
- George Bitros and Ioanna Minoglou: Entrepreneurship and market order: Some historical evidence [1] Munich UniversityPersonal RePEc Archive