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 The Greek Merchant Navy refers to the merchant marine of Greece, engaged in commerce and transportation of goods and services universally. It consists of the merchant vessels owned by Greek civilians, flying either the Greek flag or a flag of convenience. Greece is a maritime nation by tradition, as shipping is arguably the oldest form of occupation of the Greeks and a key element of Greek economic activity since the ancient times. Nowadays, Greece has the largest merchant fleet in the world, which is the second largest contributor to the national economy after tourism and forms the backbone of world shipping. The Greek fleet flies a variety of flags, however some Greek shipowners gradually return to Greece following the changes to the legislative framework governing their operations and the improvement of infrastructure.
[edit] History
The Greeks have been a maritime nation since the times of ancient Greece, as the mountainous landscape of the mainland, the limited farming area and the extended coastline of Greece led people to occupy with 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 have been proven fundamental for the formation of the maritime nature of the Greek nation at an early stage. Thus, the Greeks soon came to control the maritime trade in the region and gradually expanded it along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, also establishing colonies. A large part of the sea trade of the Roman Empire was carried out by the Greeks in the following centuries, while they continued to be involved and play a major role in shipping during the era of the Byzantine Empire as well. In the times of the Ottoman Empire, the involvement of the Greeks in international maritime commerce was also prominent and Greek ships could be found especially in the ports of the eastern Mediterranean. They expanded their shipping activities and trade towards western Europe in the 16th century, taking advantage from the rapidly increasing need for grain. The restrictions imposed by the Ottomans to regulate the grain trade did not prevent the Greeks from carrying out illicit trade which brought considerable fortunes to them. Later, the Greek maritime merchants increased their influence, as they supplied the Balkans with raw materials, handled goods on behalf of foreigners, distributed the goods to the final markets and controlled the sea trade in the region, assuming the role of shipping agents. During the 18th century, the consolidation of political and economical power at the hands of the Phanariotes in Constantinople helped further expansion of the Greek maritime activity into the rest of Europe. The Greek merchant marine was also able to displace the western maritime powers due to the Anglo-French wars, which led their commerce to decline, and the navigation of the Greek vessels under the protection of the Russian Empire in many occasions. The most prominent of the Greek cities that emerged as maritime powers were those from western Greece, primarily Galaxidi and Messolonghi, but also Arta, Preveza and Corfu, due to their early commercial ties with the Italian cities. In addition, the Aegean Islands were heavily active in shipping, where traditionally the inhabitants occupied with maritime commerce, especially Hydra, Spetses, Andros, Kasos, Psara and Mykonos. Although they did not have their own national flag, they flew the flags of the Russian and the British Empire for international routes. In 1792, the first Greek insurance company was founded in Trieste and those of Odessa followed in 1808 and 1814. Gradually, Greek seafarers made a lot of money and gained further knowledge and experience as they had to refine their ships and themselves in warfare against the pirates. The growth of the Greek merchant fleet gave confidence and success to them, while their contact with the western peoples awakened their national conciousness and made them feel free. The existence of a reservoir of trained sailors was to be proven an inestimable advantage once the Greek War of Independence had broken out, when the Greek merchant fleet converted to a formidable martial weapon against the cumbersome ships of the Ottoman fleet. Greek merchants also provided the material basis for the Neohellenic Diafotismos. Impelled by the sense of local patriotism that had always been strong in the Greek world, they endowed schools and libraries. The three most important schools-cum-colleges in the Greek world on the eve of the War of Independence were situated in Smyrna, Chios, and Ayvalik (on the coast of Asia Minor opposite the island of Lesbós), all three major centres of Greek commerce.[1] In the wake of the nineteenth century diaspora the Chiot families were well positioned to take advantage of the commercial opportunities across Europe after the Napolenic Wars. Families such as the Rallis were already established in Marseilles and London. They established a network of shipping specialists across all of the major ports in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Gaining a seat on the Baltic Exchange, Ralli Brothers were able to introduce shippers and agents to reliable sources of funding. In some parts of the world these fleets were Greek-owned, but in Britain they were almost exclusively chartered by London Greeks flying under the British Flag. The major shipping companies were then owned by Papayanni, Spartali and Schilizzi, while the Rodocanachi family became pre-eminent traders in their cargoes. 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.[2] The financial crisis of the 1860s saw some of these businesses collapse[3] Nonetheless, the tradition of endowment continued, and it was shipping that funded 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. Many changes and upheavals affected their markets: the Russian Revolution, the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and restrictions in Egypt that closed their markets to foreigners. The Greek grain merchants in London and Odessa lost access to their traditional grain suppliers and markets and, rather than close, they seized the chance to invest in merchant fleets of steamships, and specialized in tramp shipping. [edit] Development in AsiaGreek firms have managed to greatly capture the immense expansion of Asia, particularly China. It is majorly the dry bulk shipping firms that have benefited the most from the development since iron ore and coal are the two major resources that are required for a country's infrastructure to be taken to the next level. Ever since the beginning of the new millennium, China has provided very lucrative contracts both on the spot, and time charter market for dry bulk shippers. As a result, many new shipping tycoons were created. [edit] FamiliesMost Greek shipping has been run as a family business, with family members located in key ports or in key positions, and with marriages cementing relationships between commercial dynasties. These close-knit families have allowed financially-sensitive information to be kept within the local community, with many transactions kept within trusted family networks. The twentieth century saw more Greek shipping families established, including:
Other contemporary shipowners include:
John Latsis built a shipping empire out of nothing and his son Spiros took over with great success expanding the empire even further than shipping into banking and finance. The Goulandris brothers started out from the Greek island of Andros and have built a multi-billion dollar empire over many years of trading. John Theodoracopoulos was a well known shipping magnate of the 20th century who controlled a large fleet from New York[citation needed]. Theodoracopoulos started out his fleet by buying many Liberty ships from the Americans during WWII. [edit] Greek Shipping CompaniesSome notable Greek shipping companies include:
[edit] See also
[edit] References[edit] External links
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