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FORUM DNV: Strong Bonds with Greek Shipping For Det Norske Veritas, one of the largest ship classification societies in the world, Greek shipping has proven very important. In the last few years, DNV has entrenched itself in the Greek shipping market, which now constitutes 17% of the total tonnage of its international clients. Aship classification society as large as DNV could not ignore a new building activity with the astronomical figure of $22 billion spent for new ships in the last five years by Greek shipowners. Company executives were quick to spot rapid growth in the Greek shipping industry in the last few years that was spurred by a huge shipbuilding investment program, despite signs of saturation evident in other markets. "To understand how important the Greek market is to us, consider the fact that, two years ago, we relocated our administrative headquarters for 23 countries in Southeast Europe to Piraeus," says the regional director of the society in Southeast Europe, John Kourmatzis. Many foreign ship classification societies that have offices in Greece have also stood up to take note of Greek shipping. "Whoever establishes himself now in the Greek market will win the competition battle today and in the future," believes Mr. Kourmatzis. The figures speak for themselves. The number of Greek-owned ships that DNV inspects today has increased by 41% in the last six years, reaching 428 compared with 301 in 1998. With regard to the tonnage of the ships it inspects, the increase was around 77%, from 9.39 million tons in 1998 to 16.64 million tons today. Having secured a position in the Greek market which, by nature of its size, shows promise, DNV is after a larger share, along with its old-time competitors, Lloyds Register (LR) in the UK and American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) in the U.S. The Norwegian ship classification society already inspects 12.6% of the 3,300-strong Greek-owned fleet, compared with 9.39% in 1998. It increased its share in tonnage proportionally, from 11.95% in 1998 to 16% this year. Although the growth the society has seen in the Greek market is large, executives stress that their objective is 24 AEGEAN NEWS AUTUMN 2003
not so much the size, but the quality of the ships it undertakes to inspect. "It is not coincidence that, on a world scale, DNV has the lowest number of ships held at ports by authorities for safety irregularities. This has as much to do with the company’s objective to have a quality portfolio, as the care taken by its clients (shipowners) on safety issues and ship maintenance," says Mr. Kourmatzis. New Orders The society’s steady upward trend is clear. Inspections of Greek-owned ships under construction have increased, equaling those of its two competitors in the Greek market, LR and ABS. According to DNV figures, in 2002 the society inspected 28 of the 95 Greek ships under construction, with a tonnage of 1.76 million tons of a total 5.46 respectively. In the same year, ABS inspected 31 ships (1.84 million tons), and LR 30 ships (1.57 million tons). DNV therefore achieved a 12% increase in the number of ships it inspected, from 18% in 1998 to 30% in 2002, and an increase in tonnage from 28% to 32.5%. 2003 Growth Growth continued at the same rate this year, which is expected to be a record year in new orders of ships by Greek owners. During the first seven months of 2003, Greek shipowners have ordered more ships than those ordered during the whole of 2002. According to statistics from shipping brokers, increases in orders apply as much to tankers (117 until June) as to container carriers (10), and dry and bulk cargo carriers (37). In Mr. Kourmatzis’ opinion, a good freight market in these ship categories, and a good run of the dollar, strengthened the flow of incoming orders for ships by Greek shipowners. The trend was even followed by shipowners who normally purchase second-hand vessels from the international market. The Trust of 177 Companies In total, DNV has 160 Greek clients and 17 Cypriot clients that own 561 ships with a capacity of 19.3 million DWT. The society has undertaken to inspect 54 Greek- and Cypriot-owned ships under construction with a tonnage of 2.77 million tons, and has issued ISM certificates to 78 shipping companies. It carries out 600 inspections annually, as well as 25 special inspections for ship building upgrades. DNV in Greece (Department for Southeast Europe) Oversees Clients Greece and Cypriot fleet under DNV inspection Ships under construction that it has undertaken to inspect Annual ship inspections 600 Companies is has certified with ISM 78 John Kourmatzis 23 countries, with 28 local stations and 176 employees 160 Greek and 17 Cypriot companies 561, capacity 19.3 million tons 54, capacity 2.77 million tons The Shipyards Greek Owners Prefer DNV has interesting statistics on Greek shipbuilding activity. According to its data, Korean shipyards, which are considered to have greatest specialization, claim the largest piece of the pie (60.5%). Japan follows with 23% and China and other shipyards with 16.5%. The Chinese Market Although Chinese shipyards fall short of Korean and Japanese standards, they are becoming ever more popular among Greek shipowners because of low construction costs. "This is why it is anticipated that many Greek shipowners that order elsewhere today will turn toward China in the next few years," say DNV executives. The types of ships on order are: 107 tankers; 48 cargo ships; 6 container carriers; 19 various types. Positive Prospects for Greek Shipping Executives of DNV are focusing their attention on Greek shipping as they realize that Greek companies are seeing unprecedented growth. "In the last few years, the average growth rate of Greek shipping companies was around 5% compared with 2% in international shipping, a trend that is continuing with the same momentum this year" stresses Mr. Kourmatzis. This is due to the large number of Greek-owned ships. Until now, DNV's Piraeus office has certified 365 ships for safe management, (owned by 70 shipping companies), issued ISO 9000 certificates to 15 shipping companies, and ISO 14001 certificates to four companies. It has also certified five training centers and two crew employment agencies. Furthermore, DNV arranges 30 training seminars annually for shipping company executives, and, together with the University of Piraeus, has established a training program for postgraduate studies. AUTUMN 2003 AEGEAN NEWS 25
Page 1: Aegean News T H E Q U A R T E R L Y
Page 5 and 6: contents 4 Aegean's new headquarter
Page 7 and 8: New Lubricants Manager at Aegean Ma
Page 9 and 10: 194,000 People Employed in Oceangoi
Page 11 and 12: free market in coastal shipping wil
Page 13 and 14: companies and will be a deterrent f
Page 15 and 16: Greek shipowners state that keeping
Page 17 and 18: Community Shipowners Association, G
Page 19 and 20: AEGEAN IN FUJAIRAH Aegean Bunkering
Page 21 and 22: AEGEAN MARINE Aegean Marine Petrole
Page 23 and 24: STATION OF THE MONTH Securing an Ae
Page 25: AEGEAN ROUTES The Internal Auditor
Page 29 and 30: EXPLORATION The Story of Oil Oil wa
Page 31 and 32: 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES The Ancient Game
Page 33 and 34: A look that says THE AEGEAN IMAGE

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