Οικονομική κρίση και ναυτιλιακή αγορά

Ισκινατζή, Μαργαρίτα

Master Thesis

Author

Ισκινατζή, Μαργαρίτα

Date

2014-07-10

Abstract

The present paper aims to study the shipping market and the effect of the global financial crisis, not only in the shipping itself but also in the financing of the sector. The said paper consists of eight (8) chapters: Initially (Chapter 1), we make an introduction in the meanings of recession and financial crisis, and we clarify the difference between them. It is difficult for someone who is not a financial analyst to easily distinguish when a country is being in a recession period and when facing a financial crisis. Then in Chapter 2 the causes of the crisis are indicated and reference is made to each one of them. These causes did not only rise up by the banks, but also by the supervisors, the rating agencies and even the investors themselves. In the next section (Chapter 3), we make a countdown of the consequences of the financial crisis. Consequences that affected very important sectors of a country’s economy, such as employment, trade, tourism and last but not least shipping, which is our study’s main part. In Chapter 4, we approach theoretically the operation of the shipping market. It is also being clarified the meaning of the freight market and of the factors that affect same, as well as the meaning of the shipping indices and how the freight is being determined. Chapter 5 follows, which passes from theory to practice. We study how the financial crisis impacted on the freight market of both the dry, wet sector and container’s one and also some illustrative external factors that played equally crucial role in determining the freight. Then, Chapter 6 illustrates the behavior of ship values and how these were formed during the period of 2008-2011. How shipbuilders experienced the lack of liquidity of the ship owners and how the Asian shipbreakers handled the oversupply of ships? In the next section (Chapter 7), reference is made to the vital role of the financing in shipping companies in order to carry out their activities. Funding, which till 2008 was mostly done by the banks, it was largely limited in the years to come, giving impetus to owners to look for other methods to obtain the required liquidity. Finally (Chapter 8), there is a brief reference to Greek shipping. Greece along with the global economic crisis has to face as well the governmental Greek debt. However, Greece maintains a pure shipping identity, rooted in the very distant past, which gives her the experience to stand on stage and move forward with the least possible losses.