After two years of tentative growth, the local industry slumped again last year, possibly because of strong competition from Turkish yards starved of newbuilding orders.

Annual figures released by Greece’s statistics agency, ELSTAT, revealed that activity shrank by 14% in 2016, in terms of vessels repaired (445) and tonnage handled — 5.1 million gross tons (gt). This was disappointing after 2015, when activity posted a sudden growth spurt, albeit from all-time-low levels.

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