Last month, the sound of hammering and welding came from the Skaramangas Shipyard in Athens as workers repaired the bow on a large oil tanker while other vessels were waiting to be fixed nearby in a drying dock.

The shipyard is now a hive of activity after a dramatic turnaround. A year ago, the shipyard was empty following decades of government ownership. It was a symbol of the long-lasting impact of Greece’s devastating debt crisis from 2009-2018.

Theodoros, who was sandblasting vessels and painting them at the yard, said: "Now there's vitality again." "I could not find a job anywhere."

The sale of Skaramangas Shipyard by the Greek government to shipping magnate George Prokopiou, last year, was a sign that Greece is recovering from its crisis.

Since 2019, the centre-right government led by Kyriakos Mitsotakis also sold its stakes at Elefsina Shipyard and Syros Shipyard.

Shipowners can create business in Greece by repairing their ships, rather than in Turkey or Asia.

Greeks may own the largest merchant fleet in world, with over 5,500 ships, but the country's shipyards are losing ground to other competitors and, until now, privatisation attempts have failed or stalled.

Skaramangas Shipyards repaired 37 vessels in the last year. Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, the CEO of Skaramangas Shipyards, said that he expects this number to double next year. This trend is also reflected in the larger industry. According to the Statistics Service, ship repairs in Greece reached 700 last year, up from 330 the previous year.

Varvitsiotis stated, "We're back and here to stay."

EXPANSION PLANS

Panos Xenokostas of?, the owner of???, stated that the increased business has already doubled shipyards contribution to the GDP of the country to 1.5%. ??? Shipyards and Technology, which bought Elefsina and Syros Shipyards in 2020 and 2018 from the State. He plans to raise that number to 2.5% within five years.

Xenokostas said that the number of annual repairs in his two yards has jumped from a few dozen in the past decade to 220 by 2024. He plans to expand his business into building ships, drilling platforms, and repairing specialised liquefied gas carriers.

George Xiradakis, a maritime expert and financier in shipping, said that the boom in shipyards has put Greece back on the map as a repair center in the Mediterranean. They can't compete with the large Turkish and Asian shipyards, but they can take a substantial share.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Greece built and rebuilt hundreds of ships. Then in the 1980s during a period of economic downturn, the government took over the majority of the shipbuilding industry.

The suburbs of Athens' working class, west of Athens where the majority of shipyards are located, have also seen a rebound.

Perama is a seaside town where dozens of firms work as subcontractors to the large shipyards. The unemployment rate, which was 40% ten years ago, is now so low, that contractors are unable to find workers, according to mayor Yiannis Lagadakos.

Lagoudakos said, "Now we need to increase the roads and parking areas to cope with the increased traffic." Our town is flourishing.

(source: Reuters)