There is often discussion about the extent to which the Greek merchant fleet has the Greek flag raised on its ships, how many are simply Greek-owned, and how Greek shipowners operate.
According to ELSTAT, the total capacity of the Greek merchant fleet (ships of 100 GRT and above) amounted to 34,958,060 GRT and showed a decrease of 3.8% in September 2025 compared to the corresponding capacity of September 2024, while a decrease of 2.9% had been recorded in the corresponding comparison of September 2024 to September 2023.
The data also show a very small increase in the number of ships but at the same time there is a noticeable decrease in capacity.
More specifically, the Greek merchant fleet showed an increase of the order of 0.4% in September this year compared to the corresponding strength of September 2024. It is worth noting that an increase of the order of 0.4% had also been recorded in the corresponding comparison of September 2024 to September 2023,
Greek merchant fleet: how many ships are under the Greek flag?
The merchant ships flying the Greek flag are 1,842. As is known, there are many more ships owned by Greek shipowners which, however, are simply Greek-owned, meaning they fly the flags of other countries. Certainly, the “challenge” is for the Greek merchant fleet to remain at the top
Let us emphasize here that Greek sailors traveling on any ship under a “foreign” flag have no difference from those traveling on ships under the Greek flag, and they pay all the contributions due to them normally, simply following a different procedure.
