Customers of Panamanian registry maintain leadership in fleet value

Greek shipbuilders maintained their leadership in the overall value of their fleet, remaining the leader in the categories of bulk carriers and oil tankers, followed by Japan, China, Singapore, the United States, Germany, Norway, South Korea, Denmark and United Kingdom.

Although they remained the leader, Greek shipowners recorded the largest fall in total value, registering a fleet of $ 84.079 million, reflecting a decrease of almost 12% in the cargo sectors. Greece also maintained its leadership in the categories of bulk carriers and oil tankers.

Panama’s Maritime Authority (AMP) Merchant Marine Director Fernando Solorzano said that Greece remains an important customer for Panama’s ship registry, but the leading countries in the registry are: Japan, South Korea and China, Which were precisely placed in the second, third and fourth place in the ranking.

“Greek tanker owners started earning more than $ 100,000 a day on their ships. However, the rest of 2016 has been predominantly downward. By the end of 2016, the Greek fleet had shrunk by about $ 11 billion, “said William Bennett, senior analyst at VesselsValue, quoted in worldmaritimenews.
“Second (in terms of total lost value) was the United States, whose fleet lost $ 4 billion, less than half of the Greek losses,” Bennett said.
 Falling less than 1% in total value, Japanese owners were able to reach the leader. Japan is the principal owner of LNG and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) carriers.

Precisely the Japanese shipowners are the main clients of the registry of ships of Panama and the main cargo segments that lead the merchant fleet of Panama are: Bulk carriers and containers.

Bulk carriers, according to Bennett, have had a “disappointing” 2016 after record lows at the beginning of the year. The three main nations that own this fleet: Greece, Japan and China have seen their fleets increase by more than $ 4 billion each.

From the fourth to the sixth, the German cargo fleet lost about 30% of its value mainly due to the depressive container market. However, the nation continued to be the main owner of container ships.

Bennett said: “The German container fleet dropped by almost $ 11 billion throughout 2016 after heavy losses in the sector. The largest reduction was experienced in the panamax and post-panamax sectors, with some vessels losing up to 60% of their value. The German losses are fueled by this, as 59% of its fleet consists of panamax ships and post-panamax ships. “

Law 63 of 1917, by which the Chapter I of the Nationalization of Ships is reformed and added to the Tax Code, begins Panama as a merchant country. The first merchant to be promoted in Panama was Belén Quezada on August 20, 1919.

Source: Capital Financiero