Germany, which currently is home to the world’s biggest container vessel fleet, will in future have fewer small shipping firms as European banks avoid the industry and American and Asian financiers focus on bigger peers, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) cited by shipping industry trade publication 'Maritime London' in its latest newsletter. As shipowners face pressure to put more fuel-efficient vessels into service to get better rates, they will need to team up with peers in alliances or mergers to tap financing sources, according to PwC’s Claus Brandt. Smaller shipping companies will bid farewell to the market, because they don’t have access to financing sources. Only companies of a certain size will get foreign capital.