The giants of Greek shipping, with huge fleets and huge personalities, are a common topic of discussion. But in Greece, a description that is frequently heard refers to the small companies as the 'backbone' of the country's shipping industry.
Athens-based analyst Petrofin Research calculates that, in 2013, there were 690 Greece-based shipping companies. Out of those, just 35 had 25 or more vessels in their fleets, while 451 companies fell in the one to four-unit categories, accounting for 65% of the whole in terms of actual ship numbers.
But
