Greek shipyards have been revived, foreshadowing new growth in the country’s maritime cluster and Greece’s prospects as a maritime hub for the region.

For decades, Greece’s three main shipyards – on Syros, at Elefsina and at Skaramangas – were hamstrung by a web of competing legal and financial claims, but these have been systematically resolved by the government over the past few years. As a result, the yards have drawn investor interest, culminating in the sale and consolidation of the two yards on Syros and at Elefsina to the ONEX group, and the sale of the Skaramangas yard to shipowner George Prokopiou.

The ONEX group business plan foresees $550 million worth of investments in the two yards with the aim of developing them into a maritime hub for the greater Mediterranean region. Recently, the American government’s development fund, the US International Development Finance Corporation, extended a $125 million loan to ONEX to help finance its investments.

Helping support the growth in Greece’s maritime cluster is the country’s ongoing naval modernization program, as well as the growing footprint of Greek manufacturers of maritime equipment and supplies. The naval projects could include the future co-production of foreign frigates, while increased activity in the shipyards will boost Greek maritime equipment manufacturers, who are already world leaders in their sector.

Greece is one of the world’s preeminent shipping nations, controlling roughly one-fifth of the world’s ocean going fleet and more than half of the European Union’s total tonnage. The overall contribution of maritime transport to the Greek economy is equal to 7.9% of GDP, and the sector provides directly and indirectly almost 90,000 full-time jobs in Greece.

The area of greater Athens – and the Port of Piraeus in particular – is viewed as one of Europe’s major shipping centers. The last two decades have seen a steady growth in Athens as a commercial hub for shipping with the growth in support industries like financing and legal services.