ABSTRACT
The 1940s proved extremely important in the development of twentieth-century Greek-owned shipping. The Second World War and subsequent changes in the maritime division of labour brought unprecedented opportunities to those Greek shipowners who were able to exploit them. The shift of world economic and maritime hegemony from Britain to the US after 1945 ushered in a new era in world shipping. ‘Flags of convenience’, as they were called then, or ‘open registries’ as they are more tactfully called today, became the key manifestation of postwar American shipping policy, guaranteeing low-cost, Americancontrolled shipping. This left space for traditional European nations, such as Greece and Norway, to engage in cross-trading or to transport goods between third countries under various flags of convenience.
