Business as Usual for Greek Shipping Companies

zoom The Greek crisis that has seen global stock markets take a tumble on Monday will not have a direct impact on shipping companies, Morgan Stanleys analyst Fotis Giannakoulis said in a report published on Monday. Giannakoulis based its argument on the fact that majority of the shipping companies with offices in Greece are not actually incorporated in the country as they are registered in Marshal Islands or Bermuda. What is more, the report said that the closure of the Greek banks as the country readies for referendum on the creditors demands for the countrys bailout plan, would not have a major effect on the shipping companies as majority of them keep their money in non-Greek banks. On the other hand, Giannakoulis said that the exposure of Greek shipping companies to Greek banks is pretty low, as only 17% of the total global bank loans pertains to the countrys banks. However, the shipping companies would not be safe from an overall impact of the countrys economic downturn on global economy. Greek owners make up 20 % stake in the global commercial shipping fleet and the industry has been a major profit source for the country as it makes up 7.5 % of the Greek’s economy. The Greeks will vote on creditors demands on July 5th. The referendum has been called as countrys talks with EU leaders broke down last week signaling Greeces potential exit from the Euro zone. The move comes as the deadline to repay a USD 1.7 bln to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) closes in. Greece is to repay the debt on Tuesday by 18:00 Washington time (22:00 GMT). World Maritime News Staff