The Liberty Ships and the Beginning of Greece’s Maritime Rule

The mass-produced Liberty ships that played a significant role during WWII eventually helped Greece become the world’s leading maritime power.

Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass-produced on an unprecedented scale, the Liberty ship came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output.

The class was created in response to British requests for transport to take the place of lost ships. Between 1941 and 1945, eighteen American shipyards constructed 2,710 Liberty ships, or an average of three ships every two days. This is undoubtedly the greatest number of ships ever built to a single design.

After the end of the war, the American government decided to sell the ships. A few far-sighted Greek entrepreneurs took the opportunity to buy 98 of them.

Shipping tycoons such as John Theodoracopoulos, Aristotle Onassis, Stavros Niarchos, Stavros George Livanos, the Goulandris brothers and the Andreadis family bought dozens of them each, building a Greek fleet that soon ruled global waters.

Onassis, in particular, was known for his keen business acumen in the shipping industry. He acquired numerous Liberty ships and converted them for commercial use. These ships were utilized in various ways, including transporting goods such as oil, grain, and other commodities across the globe.

Onassis and other Greek businessmen leveraged the versatility and affordability of Liberty ships to build their shipping empires. They played a crucial role in the post-war reconstruction efforts and the expansion of global trade by providing vital transportation infrastructure.

Greeks called them “blessed ships” because thanks to the American Liberty ships the Greek economy received a much-needed kiss of life. Around 4,000 Greek seafarers found employment in those vessels and were not forced to emigrate during these difficult times.

Along with the Greek-flagged ships, more Liberty ships were bought with the flags of Honduras, Panama and the United Kingdom, which were acquired by Onassis.

Liberty ships enhance Greece-US relationship

Marine historian and researcher Giorgos M. Foustanos who founded the greekshippingmiracle.org online museum, said recently that a unique relationship was formed between Greece and the US, thanks to the acquisition of the Liberty ships.

Foustanos claimed that the selling of the Liberty ships to Greece by the US at the specific time (1946), was for reasons of geopolitical balance. It was the time the Greek Civil War was about to erupt and no one knew what the outcome would be.

Beyond that, the author said, the relationship between shipowners and the US government was a two-way street, because the Greek shipowners contributed not only to the Greek but also to the American economy; since from 1948 until 1960 they made large tanker orders from US shipyards.

One of them cost the shipowner 20 million dollars, an amount almost equivalent to half of the total money the Americans received for the sale of 98 Liberty ships.

Furthermore; Foustanos said, that while many of them were bought by French, Italian, British and Norwegian shipowners, only the Greeks were able to build a fleet, that within a few decades, dominated and still dominates the seas, today.