In sixth place, down from fourth, the German cargo fleet has lost close to 30 percent of its value primarily due to the compressed container shipping market.
Bulkers have had a deceptively good 2016 following the record lows at the start of the year. The top three bulker owning nations; Greece, Japan and China, have seen their fleets rise by over $4 billion each. This growth has been supported by strong acquisitions following some of the lowest asset prices seen since the 1980s.
The German container fleet shrunk by nearly $11 billion throughout 2016 after large losses in the sector. The largest softening was experienced in the Panamax and post-Panamax sectors with some vessels losing up to 60 percent of their value. German losses are fuelled by this as 59 percent of their fleet consists of Panamax and post-Panamax vessels.
Greek tanker owners started 2016 earning more than $100,000 /day on their vessels. However, the rest of the year has been predominantly bearish. By the end of 2016, the Greek fleet had shrunk by close to $11 billion. Coming in second was the U.S. whose fleet lost $4 billion, less than half of the Greek losses.
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