Page 391 - Invited Paper Session (IPS) - Volume 1

IPS173 Athanasios Petralias et al.
1. Introduction
The Greek Shipping Estimation Model aims to provide a coherent
statistical framework to estimate Balance of Payments items related to
shipping activity, based on administrative sources and commercial databases.
Given the multi-territorial nature of the shipping sector and the complex
group structures, the estimation of the shipping activity is one of the most
challenging tasks in terms of official statistics. This is of particular importance
to Greece, since its merchant fleet has a strategic role in the transportation of
the trade and energy of many regions in the world and of the EU and shipping
activities turnover contributes significantly to Greece’s Current Account
Balance and the GDP. The statistical framework presented in the current study,
can well be applied by other countries for Balance of Payments purposes, as
well as by researchers and analysts seeking to estimate revenues and expenses
related to shipping activity.
In the Greek Shipping Estimation model a granular level approach is used,
with vessel by vessel characterization. A three-stage approach is taken. Firstly,
the cluster is defined, the main counterparts and the types of Balance of
Payments (BOP) transactions that take place and can be estimated. Secondly,
the population is defined, including legal owner companies, operator/ship-
manager companies and the vessels to be taken into account. Finally, all BOP
transactions for a particular vessel are estimated on a monthly basis.

2. Methodology
The first step is to define the structure of the shipping cluster. The structure
presented in Figure 1 refers to the case of Standard Ship Management
Agreement. This has been identified as the most common scenario for the
Greek shipping cluster, associated with shipping companies engaged to
international carriage of goods by sea, but applies in general to cases of
standard ship management agreements. The structure of the cluster has been
compiled by combining information from: (a) detailed banking transactions
data recorded in BOP, (b) contacts with associated banks, shipping experts and
companies and (c) commercial databases.

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