The exchange's future as the world's largest shipping market depends on whether the Greeks, its wealthiest and most powerful interest group, continue to choose London as the base for their transactions. Greece is the third largest shipping nation in terms of the tonnage sailing under its flag. But the two largest, Liberia and Panama, also have large numbers of Greek-owned ships carrying their flags. Greeks represent one-third of the shipowners using the Baltic, where they sell charterers space on their ships to carry raw materials. Their overseas earnings are exempt from British tax, which gives London an advantage.
Critics say the Greek fleets have been built up with cheap second-hand ships.
They point to their slow modernisation rate at a time when the age of ships gives rise to safety concerns. But the Greek owners shrug this off as jealousy and stress their links to the sea, which go back thousands of years. For Greeks, shipping is a love affair. The Greeks came to London in the last century to replace their sailing ships with second-hand steamships that were offered here. Their seafaring expertise and knowledge of the opening markets in the East boosted London's role as a shipping centre.