Athens Aims to Become the Mediterranean’s Oslo as Shipping Lists on the Exchange

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ATHENS — Athens is positioning itself as a Mediterranean counterpart to Oslo, as ocean-going shipping builds a real presence on the Greek stock exchange for the first time in years.

The shift is being driven by more than Greece’s stable legal and tax regime for shipping. Shipowners are also looking for a European listing venue that can act as a financial back door, or “plan B,” if geopolitics sour. Repeated trade clashes and tariffs between the United States and China, together with London’s gradual loss of pull after Brexit, are pushing companies toward a euro-area exchange seat.

That is the opening Euronext wants. Since taking control of the Athens Exchange, the group has set out to make the Greek market the “stock-exchange home” of Greek shipowners, copying the specialised investor base that turned Oslo into Europe’s established shipping market.

The courtship has been deliberate. It began in 2021 with corporate bonds from groups including Costamare, Capital Product Partners and Safe Bulkers, which introduced the sector to domestic investors. Equity has followed this year. Safe Bulkers, controlled by Polys Hajioannou, became the first to take a dual listing in the summer of 2026, keeping its New York listing while adding Athens. Star Bulk Carriers followed in September, raising $125 million.

Capital Maritime Finance Corp. is next. A prospectus for an initial public offering is expected in the coming days, with the company targeting up to €200 million.

At Star Bulk’s Euronext Athens ceremony, founder and chief executive Petros Pappas appeared alongside Spyros Capralos, chairman of the Star Bulk Carriers board. The listing is being read in the market as more than a one-off: Greek owners control about a fifth of the world fleet, and Euronext’s bet is that a critical mass of names can create the kind of specialised following Oslo already has.

The money is already moving around the sector. Bank credit to Greek shipping stood at $59.68 billion, of which Greek banks accounted for $24.8 billion. Specialist lenders are also adding exposure. Macquarie, which finances owners including Atlas Maritime and Technomar, increased its Greek portfolio by 51.02 percent between 2024 and 2025, with credits exceeding $1 billion by August 2026.

Advisers are following the ships. Norway’s Fearnley Securities is opening an investment-banking hub aimed at Greek clients, part of a wider cluster of brokers, lawyers and insurers gathering around Piraeus and Athens.

None of this makes Athens Oslo yet. Oslo has decades of shipping listings and a deep pool of dedicated investors. What Athens has, and Oslo does not, is physical proximity to the operating centre of the Greek-owned fleet. Euronext’s wager is that dual listings, a European “plan B,” and a handful of successful deals can turn that advantage into a market.

Source: Ilias G. Bellos, “Πώς η Αθήνα μετατρέπεται σε… Όσλο της Μεσογείου,” Kathimerini, Business, 3 October 2026.

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