International maritime trade is rattled by the Russian invasion in Ukraine which has repercussions on the world economy. Indeed, Ukraine is considered as Europe’s breadbasket and Russia is the EU’s largest energy partner but they both have been struggling to export goods since the war began. The instability in the Black Sea, the risks for ships and crews and the progressive embargo on Russian exports limit the number of ships in the area and increase the price of transport.
As importers are forced to call on new and more expensive suppliers, there is one country who benefits from the situation : Greece. With 5,500 vessels, Greek shipowners own 59% of the European fleet and 21% of the world fleet, which makes them the big “winners” of the situation.
“Six months ago a tanker trip cost $5,000 a day, today it costs over $30,000 a day. The value of an Aframax tanker is estimated at $32-33 million today, more than double that of the year 2021″ says Dimitris Roumeliotis, an analyst at the shipping brokerage firm Xclusiv Shipbrokers.
(Photo : Kinetic Shipping)