Greek owners have moved forward with a significant restructuring of their bulker fleet during 2025. The focus has been on fewer, but younger and larger ships. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Xclusiv said that “the 2025 YTD dry bulk SnP market continues to show strong liquidity, but the nationality mix reveals where real conviction lies. China leads the buying side with 216 vessels, consolidating its role as the most aggressive fleet-expansion force in dry bulk. Greece follows with 126 ships, a number that confirms Greek owners remain highly active but far more selective compared to the heavy expansion seen in previous cycles. The 168 “Undisclosed” buyers reflect private equity, trading houses, and various Asian investment vehicles entering through quieter channels—typically a late-cycle signal. Vietnam’s 41 deals also underline how Southeast Asia is slowly building a meaningful ownership footprint”.

Source: Xclusiv

According to Xclusiv, “on the selling front, Greece stands at the top with 139 disposals, followed by Japan with 114 and China with 104. Japanese owners continue their disciplined fleet-rotation strategy, moving out mid-aged units at attractive prices. For Greeks, the high selling volume does not contradict the high buying volume; instead, it reflects a very deliberate restructuring of fleet profiles rather than simple expansion or contraction. The Rest of the World category, with 331 ships sold, confirms how broad the recycling and reshuffling process has become in 2025. Looking specifically at Greek owners, the pattern becomes much clearer. The 126 vessels acquired this year are concentrated mainly in the Handy, Ultramax and Kamsarmax segments. Handies lead with 42 units, followed by 24 Kamsarmaxes and 20 Ultramaxes.

These three sizes alone account for more than two-thirds of the buying. The age breakdown reinforces this preference: Greeks are heavily focused on 6- to 15-year-old ships, where price levels remain rational and the vessels still offer enough commercial flexibility to justify a multi-year forward view. Ultramax and Kamsarmax acquisitions in the 0-5 year bracket also stand out, showing that for certain groups the eco-fleet transition remains a strategic priority. On the disposal side, the 139 units sold by Greeks are dominated by Supramaxes (46) and Panamaxes (40). This aligns exactly with the buying pattern: owners are exiting older Supra and Panamax candidates and replacing them with younger, larger or more fuel-efficient tonnage. The age structure confirms it. Supras sold fall mainly in the 11-25 year bracket, while Panamaxes come overwhelmingly from the 16-25 year range. This is a classic clean-up phase — reducing OPEX-heavy units and trimming exposure to the most inflation-sensitive parts of the fleet”.

Source: Xclusiv

The shipbroker added that “these SnP dynamics align closely with the broader dry bulk environment. Chinese iron ore imports remain strong—up nearly 7% YTD—and although domestic steel margins fluctuate, Beijing’s infrastructure-first policy mix continues to support raw material demand. Grain trade remains resilient, while tonne-mile demand benefits from trade fragmentation and shifting Atlantic–Pacific balances. Geared segments, in particular, continue to trade at firmer levels than many expected at the start of the year, helping explain the Greek focus on Handies and Ultramaxes. Meanwhile, orderbook-to-fleet ratios remain historically low across all bulk segments, with the Kamsarmax/Ultramax newbuilding pipeline particularly tight, adding even more logic to buying mid-aged units rather than gambling on expensive, late-delivery newbuildings. Taken together, the data points to a market where Greeks are not expanding recklessly but repositioning intelligently. They are selling older Supras and Panamaxes into a strong price environment, buying younger eco-tonnage where fundamentals look firmer, and keeping their fleet balanced going into what most owners still view as a constructive medium-term cycle. China keeps driving demand on both the trade and ownership side, Japan continues its disciplined exits, and global liquidity remains deep enough to support this ongoing fleet reshaping”.
Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide