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NAVIRA NON-PROFIT COMPANY 2025
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Categories
1890-1895
margaronis .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }the margaronis family from vrontados, chios, ranks among the first greek families to become involved in steam shipping. pantelis is. margaronis took command and management of the newly-built steamship despina in 1890. the ship had been built in the united kingdom to the order of panaghis vaglianos. by 1900, all four of his sons – master mariners isidoros, anastasios, georgios, and dimitrios margaronis – had served as masters of the vessel. in the same year, the margaronis family acquired another steamship, the one-year-old iro, which they operated successfully for two decades. during the interwar period, the families of anastasios, isidoros, and georgios margaronis cooperated and acquired additional steamships. of their fleet, only the mount rhodope survived the war. their brother, dimitrios margaronis, operated independently from 1931 acquiring the steamship p. margaronis, which was torpedoed and sunk in 1940. his family continued being active in shipping after the war and until the mid-1990s. in the postwar period, the families of anastasios, isidoros, and georgios margaronis continued working together until the mid-1950s. at that point, two management companies were established; the a. margaronis & sons & co., ltd., controlled by pantelis and christoforos a. margaronis, and the margaronis navigation agency, ltd., controlled by pandias is.margaronis and pantelis g. margaronis. both companies undertook notable initiatives, managing cargo vessels, including several newlybuilt ones. the first company ceased operations shortly before the 1980s, while the second continued operating until the late 1990s. members of the fifth generation of the margaronis family still maintain a significant presence in the shipping industry. anastasios ch. margaronis has been active since the early 1980s collaborating with his cousin simos palios in diana shipping agencies s.a., while george is. margaronis holds a senior position in the shipping arm of the latsis group. the margaronis family has also made a significant impact in philanthropy. notable initiatives include the construction of the margaroneio primary school in vrontados, chios. special mention should also be made of the one-million-dollar donation left by pantelis a. margaronis to the ahepa educational foundation in his will. MARGARONIS saliaris .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }the sons of constantis saliaris from vrontados, chios – christoforos, athanassios, georgios and odysseas c. saliaris – became involved in steamship activity in 1891 in collaboration with the expatriate chian merchant dimitrios negrepontis. the eldest, captain christoforos saliaris passed away prematurely in 1898 while commanding a steamship and was buried in malta. his son, captain constantinos chr. saliaris, along with his brothers ioannis and orestis, continued the family's shipping activities after their father's death, in cooperation with the negrepontis family. in 1918, he founded the joint-stock company chiaki atmoploia (chian steam navigation), with the participation of his brothers and other greek shipowners. the company managed to establish a significant fleet for its time, but eventually failed to meet the expectations of its shareholders and eventually went bankrupt in 1932. as a result, constantinos saliaris returned to the seafaring profession to earn his living and passed away at sea in 1946, while commanding a ship. like his father, he was also buried in malta. his grandson, george a. embiricos, from the marriage of his daughter maria to shipowner aristeides g. embiricos from andros, studied economics at the university of cambridge and later obtained a law degree from the university of athens. in 1945, he settled in new york, and went on to become a prominent shipowner, renowned for his vast knowledge of the shipping industry. shortly before the mid1980s, he turned his focus to art collecting and emerged as one of the world's leading collectors. SALIARIS moraitis .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }the moraitis family began its maritime journey with andriot captain dimitrios g. moraitis, who acquired his first steamship in 1893 with a loan from the vaglianos family. he gradually developed his company by implementing a multi-share ownership system, allowing him to build an important fleet within a few years, which included five newly-built ships. in 1907, he became the first greek shipowner to establish itineraries between greece and the american continent with his newly-built ocean liner moraitis. however, financial difficulties and a series of unfortunate incidents led to the bankruptcy of his company just a year later. he subsequently settled in london, where he lived until his passing in 1942. captain nikoklis g. moraitis supported his brother's dimitrios efforts, throughout the latter's business career. shortly before dimitrios g. moraitis's bankruptcy, nikoklis, who was married to pelagia, née vatis, acquired full control of the steamship maria – in which he was already a co-owner – by purchasing his brother's share with assistance by his wife's family. unlike his brother, nikoklis followed a conservative approach in developing his business. the same attitude was adopted by his eldest son, captain georgios n. moraitis, who continued the family's shipping activities until world war ii. dimitris (takis) moraitis, the third son of nikoklis moraitis, entered the shipping industry after the war with his wife lilika, daughter of master mariner and shipowner gerassimos stathatos from cephalonia. from the mid-1970s, they dedicated themselves to philanthropic work. through their will, they allocated their entire estate to the founding of two charitable foundations in 2008; the dimitrios and lilika moraitis bequest in andros, and and its counterpart in syros. these foundations are making a significant contribution in the fields of healthcare, welfare, and charity, as well as in cultural and educational initiatives. MORAITIS vatis .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }captain leonardos j. vatis, originally from hydra, settled in hermoupolis and acquired the steamship leonardos in 1895. a year later, he purchased a second ship with the participation of his sons ioannis, antonios, and andreas. his descendants continued to develop the family’s shipping business. shortly before the outbreak of world war i, ioannis l. vatis and his sons dimitris, theofilos, and nicolaos took delivery of the newly-built steamship ioannis vatis from british shipyards. the vessel generated significant profits during the war. after her sale, in 1923 following the passing of ioannis vatis in 1921, the family temporarily withdrew from shipping activities and focused on land-based investments. among these was the construction of the luxurious vatis building on akti miaouli in piraeus. the family resumed its shipping activities in 1930 when theofilos j. vatis acquired a steamship. in 1939, his sons john and anastassios (tassis) purchased the panamaflagged tanker loida. john, a graduate of the renowned hms worcester naval school, initially served as chief officer and later as captain. the ship’s operation brought high profits, enabling the two brothers to found the trans-ocean steamship agency in new york in 1948, collaborating with ioannis gregos. the company achieved substantial growth through the management of tankers and a large number of liberty-type ships. in 1970, john vatis returned to greece and, in collaboration with his brother tassis and ioannis gregos, continued operating from piraeus. driven by his passion for sailing, john vatis also founded the company olympic marine, in laurium, attica for the construction of sailing yachts. at the same time, he and his brother bought the agia paraskevi estate in syros, which had historical ties to their mother’s family, maria papanastasopoulos. following an exemplary restoration of its buildings, including the chapel of aghia paraskevi, john vatis installed pioneering winemaking facilities in the estate, producing the quality “vatis” wines. over many years, john vatis and his wife eleni hosted distinguished guests from greece and abroad, contributing to the international promotion of syros. at the same time, they contributed significantly to the island’s cultural and charitable life. VATIS
1896-1898
vergottis .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }the vergottis family, one of greece’s renowned maritime families, established its presence in steam shipping since late 19th century. their journey began with captain charalambos (rokos) vergottis, from the village of kourkoumelata in cephalonia. after a long service on sailing ships he acquired, in 1896 his first steamship, annika, in partnership with a merchant from patras. the family’s maritime tradition was continued by his five sons; gerassimos, panaghis, georgios, andreas, and stephanos. the eldest, captain gerassimos ch. vergottis, acquired his first steamship in 1906 and expanded the business with additional purchases. in 1915, he founded an office in cardiff, managed by his brother panaghis ch. vergottis. panaghis, master mariner and graduate of the robert college in constantinople, later settled in london and established an office. he was the first chairman of the advisory committee of the union of greek shipowners in london. the children of gerassimos vergottis and calypso kampitsis – rokos, panaghis, eftychia (wife of nicos iatrou), and angeliki (wife of nicolaos apodiakos) – founded adelphi vergottis ltd. in london in 1937, which operated until the late 1980s. the third son, georgios ch. vergottis, studied at the commercial school of halki and at the naval academy of marseille. he later worked in the family offices in london, and during world war ii, he relocated to new york. after the war, he built a fleet consisting of libertytype ships and newly-built tankers. before his sudden passing in 1966, he had become a major benefactor of his hometown, funding its complete reconstruction after the devastating 1953 earthquake. his office remained in operation until the mid-1990s. andreas ch. vergottis played an active role in the family business and acquired his own ships. one of them, the emmy, was lost in an accident before greece’s involvement in world war ii. this led to a legal dispute between the shipowner and the greek government, which andreas ultimately won in british courts. the sons of stephanos ch. vergottis – andreas, rokos, and nicos – established valiant steamship co. in london in 1968. today, the management of ships controlled by the vergottis group is performed through fundador compania naviera s.a., in piraeus. VERGOTTIS lykiardopulo .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }the lykiardopulo family, from the village of kerameies in cephalonia, entered the steam shipping industry in 1897, when master mariner nicolaos lykiardopulo acquired the steamship eleni milas, with financing from the vaglianos family. as an experienced seafarer, having begun his maritime career at the age of 14, he developed his business methodically, establishing an office london in 1910, and commissioning the building of two ships from british shipyards shortly before the outbreak of world war i. in october 1916, heading a group of shipowners, industrialists, and businessmen, he founded the bank of piraeus for commerce, industry, and shipping. a year later, he was involved in the establishment of an insurance company. he continued to expand his fleet after the war, joined by his two sons, panaghis and gerassimos. he also took initiatives concerning matters of public interest, such commissioning a plan to supply athens with fresh water – a project ultimately thwarted by the political instability of the time. in 1934, he was elected a senator representing the shipping sector. shortly before the end of the 1930s, the family resumed its shipbuilding activity, receiving two cargo ships from british shipyards. after world war ii and the loss of a significant part of their fleet, the lykiardopulo group expanded into the tanker sector achieving great success that continues to this day. in 1950, at the age of 84, nicolaos lykiardopulo was elected president of the union of greek shipowners, a position he held for a decade. he passed away in 1963, having been honored by the greek state for his contributions to both shipping and his homeland. his legacy continued by his sons panaghis and gerassimos, and later by his grandson fotis p. lykiardopulo. today, the group’s shipping arm, neda maritime agency co. ltd., is led by nicolaos and michael f. lykiardopulo. the lykiardopulo family has also established an important social legacy through notable philanthropic work, including the construction of an orphanage in argostoli in 1958, and the rebuilding of the church of saint nicholas in kerameies, cephalonia, following the devastating 1953 earthquakes. LYKIARDOPULO cosmas .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }the cosmas family, originating from hydra, established a long maritime tradition through andreas cosmas (droutsis), who was followed by his son, master mariner ioannis a. cosmas. his sons, master mariners andreas, mikes, and kosmas, acquired the syros, the familys's first steamship just before the end of the 19th century. they subsequently developed significant maritime activity by acquiring additional ships until world war i. during the interwar period and until the outbreak of world war ii, andreas i. cosmas, in cooperation with his son, captain john a. cosmas, remained active in shipping adopting a conservative attitude. in 1940, the latter settled in santa monica, california, where he founded a small ship repair facility that provided services to the us authorities during the war. in the post-war period, he operated through his company hermes steamship agency, inc., based in san francisco, california, managing a significant number of vessels, including newly-built ships constructed in european shipyards. throughout his life, john a. cosmas discretely carried out philanthropic work, especially in his hometown of hermoupolis, syros, for which he received many honors from both the municipality of hermoupolis and the greek state. in 1954, he was awarded the golden cross of the royal order of george i. he passed away in 1968 in san francisco, and, in accordance to his wish, was buried in his beloved birthplace, syros. COSMAS kulukundis .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }captain elias g. kulukundis, from the village of fry on the island of kassos, was the founder of one of greece’s most important maritime families. in 1898, after he had settled in hermoupolis, he acquired his first steamship supported by the banker alexios gangos. he was subsequently assisted by his five sons – george, nicolaos, manuel, john, and michael – from his marriage to eleni mavroleon. the first two evolved to distinguished captains, while manuel emerged over the following decades as a leading figure in greek shipping. in 1921, he settled in london and, in collaboration with his cousin minas rethymnis, founded rethymnis & kulukundis ltd. the company was instrumental in establishing the greek maritime presence in the british capital and represented a large number of steamships belonging to other greek shipowners. younger brother john e. kulukundis, also settled in london, where he lived for the rest of his life and served for many years as president of the greek shipping cooperation committee. with the outbreak of world war ii, manuel kulukundis moved to new york, where he lived until his passing in 1988. he played a pivotal role as a representative of greek shipping interests, particularly during the era of the acquisition of the 98 liberty-type ships. his younger brother michael as well as captains george and nicolaos e. kulukundis, also relocated to the united states, during the war period. shortly after the end of world war ii – in which the rethymnis & kulukundis ltd. fleet suffered heavy losses – nicolaos kulukundis moved to canada, founding the acadia shipping co. the above company succeeded in securing the credit-based acquisition of 68 cargo ships – similar to liberty ships – from the canadian government. of these, 45 were transferred to other greek shipowners, significantly aiding their postwar recovery. in 1948, the kulukundis brothers, along with their cousin basil em. mavroleon, founded the british enterprise london & overseas freighters ltd., which focused primarily on tankers, building a large number of ships of this type until it was sold to norwegian interests in 1997. the company also managed, for many years, the historic austin & pickersgill ltd. shipbuilding facility in sunderland, uk, where the sd-14 cargo ships – successors to the legendary liberty ships – were constructed. in addition to the five sons of elias g. kulukundis, younger generations of the family also made a significant contribution to shipping in the postwar period – especially miltiades (miles) n. kulukundis and stathes m. kulukundis. KULUKUNDIS
1899-1900
kokkinos .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }captain christofis th. kokkinos, born in vrontados on the island of chios, settled in syros, where he married cleopatra chr. krystallis. the couple had two sons and four daughters. in 1899, he became a shareholder in the steamship ambatielos, and later, with financial backing from chian banker theodoros pangalos, he went on to acquire his own steamships, working in partnership with his sons, captains thomas and dimitrios kokkinos. of his four daughters, fanie married the master mariner and shipowner mikes cosmas, while irene married shipowner and industrialist antonios valmas. along with his father, nicolaos valmas, antonios had acquired the electric company of syros, after the end of world war i. in 1959, antonios valmas, in collaboration with his sons nicolaos, christofis, dimitrios, and his daughter kallirroi – who was married to mikes foustanos – founded valmas shipping ltd. the company was active in ocean-going shipping until the early 1980s. among the descendants of the valmas family is george m. foustanos, son of kallirroi, who founded the digital museum greek shipping miracle in 2014. in 2020, he founded with his son michalis foustanos the non-profit organization navira. the organization's main objective is the preservation and utilization of archival material, with the vision of establishing an international research center in hermoupolis dedicated to the history of modern shipping. KOKKINOS coulouras .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }ghikas coulouras, a descendant of a seafaring family, was born in hydra in 1865. at the age of 22, he obtained his captain's license, and in 1899, he purchased his first steamship with the financial support of the greek expatriate leonidas zarifis, who lived in constantinople. he was the visionary behind the founding of the union of greek shipowners in 1916 and later played a leading role in its re-establishment after the organization fell into inactivity from 1920 to 1924. he followed a conservative business approach, however, in 1919, he made a bold investment by acquiring a steamship for the extravagant price of £175,000 prevailing at the time – a move that proved disastrous. he eventually sold the vessel in 1932 for just £2,700 and moreover, he was forced to sell even his residence to repay creditors. despite his limited financial resources, he made philanthropic and public benefit contributions to hydra, including funding the construction of the building that housed the island's historic archive of the 1821 war of independence. he was elected member of parliament for hydra with the liberal party in 1928 and again in 1933. his younger brother, athanassios coulouras, acquired his first steamship, in 1909 which he captained. like his brother, he was conservative in expanding his shipping activities. in 1930, he donated his residence to house the hydra merchant marine academy. COULOURAS pneumaticos .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }captain ioannis pneumaticos, originally from the village of panagia, in kassos island, settled in hermoupolis at the end of the 19th century. in 1899, in partnership with his cousin, captain basil rethymnis, acquired a steamship with financial support from the expatriate leonidas zarifis from constantinople. their association with zarifis and members of the greek diaspora in constantinople, including brothers spyridon and xenophon a. siderides, led to the financing of a second steamship in 1907. michael pneumaticos, son of ioannis, studied at the renowned robert college in constantinople and pursued a maritime career, obtaining his captain’s license at the age of 23. in 1910, having established during his studies a friendship with leonidas arvanitidis, he took command of a ship belonging to the latter’s family. at a later stage, when two more ships were added to the arvanitidis fleet, he was appointed chief captain in their offices in constantinople. following the asia minor catastrophe, michael pneumaticos eventually returned to hermoupolis in 1922. a year later, he co-founded a shipping enterprise with the rethymnis brothers and stathes yannaghas, husband of his sister, eugenia. in 1926, along with leonidas arvanitidis, they founded kassos steam navigation s.a., which significantly boosted the economy of the cyclades capital thanks to its dynamic growth, including the construction of cargo ships in uk shipbuilding facilities. among these was the kassos, the first newly-built greek ship powered by a diesel engine. in 1936, michael pneumaticos was elected president of the union of greek shipowners. after world war ii – during which the kassos steam navigation s.a. fleet suffered significant losses – he moved abroad and played a pivotal role in rebuilding the company, acquiring new and newlybuilt vessels. michael pneumaticos was married to sofia nikolettou with whom he had two daughters myrto and nitsa. myrto married demetrius chandris, and nitsa married sotirios matantos. his grandsons, john and michael d. chandris, lead currently one of the largest greek shipping groups. sotirios matantos, who represented kassos steam navigation s.a. in postwar years, was the first to put forward the idea of creating a special legal framework to develop a national ship registry. this idea was eventually adopted and implemented by the papagos administration in 1953. PNEUMATICOS rethymnis .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }captain basil n. rethymnis was born in 1858 on the island of kassos and settled in hermoupolis shortly before the end of the 19th century. in 1899, in partnership with his cousin, captain ioannis pneumaticos, he acquired his first steamship with funding from expatriate leonidas zarifis. he married marigo yerogiannis, and together they had two sons, nicolaos and minas. after completing secondary school in hermoupolis, both sons studied at maritime academies in the united kingdom and later were distinguished as captains, taking command of the family’s vessels. in 1921, nicolaos and minas rethymnis founded rethymnis & kulukundis ltd., in london, in collaboration with the sons of elias g. kulukundis. in 1926, in partnership with their cousins michael pneumaticos and stathes yannaghas, they established kassos steam navigation s.a. in hermoupolis, which evolved into one of the most significant greek shipping companies of its era. in 1939, the company took delivery of the steamship kassos, the first newly-built greek vessel with a diesel main engine, largely based on nicolaos rethymnis’ design. during world war ii, nicolaos rethymnis relocated to new york. after the war, he continued expanding kassos steam navigation s.a. with his brother and the pneumaticos family, acquiring a large fleet that included several newly-built ships. in 1955, the rethymnis brothers purchased the neorion shiprepair facility in syros from fellow kassian shipowner minas diacakis, and had it transformed into an important repair center equipped with modern machinery. lacking successors, they decided to sell the shipyard in 1969 to the n. j. goulandris group to ensure its continued development. nicolaos and minas rethymnis were notable benefactors, making significant donations to both their hometown of kassos and to syros. in 1977, they established the charitable foundation adelfotis kassion, to which they bequeathed the majority of their estate, while also donating their ancestral property to the municipality of kassos. RETHYMNIS nicolaou .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }georgios nicolaou was born in the village of poli on the island of kassos in 1877 and later settled in syros. from a young age, he dedicated himself to the maritime profession and distinguished himself as a ship captain. in 1900, at the age of 23, he took command of the steamship sparti, owned by pantoleon foustanos, while also acquiring a small ownership share. in 1904, he purchased the steamship agios georgios, marking the beginning of an impressive career. within fifteen years, he emerged as one of the most successful greek shipowners, having earned substantial profits during world war i. highly active and enterprising, georgios nicolaou remained involved in shipping until his premature death at the age of 48 in 1925. he was married to zografia yannaghas, with whom he had seven children; one son, nicolaos, and six daughters – katie, virginia, ioulia, eleni, maria, and ourania. nicolaos nicolaou, who was only 17 years old when his father passed away, continued developing the family's shipping business, assisted initially by his mother. the nicolaou group operated until the mid-1970s. among georgios nicolaou's daughters, eleni was married to politician georgios mavros, ourania to shipowner antonis chandris, and virginia to shipowner antonis pappadakis. the latter passed away in 1980 and was succeeded by his twin sons, george and nicky. today, the family business, kassian maritime ltd., is headed by antonios n. pappadakis. the pappadakis family has been associated with significant public benefit initiatives. NICOLAOU
1900-1901
fafalios .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }the steamship activity of brothers ioannis, stamos, loukas, and panagos fafalios – all master mariners – from vrontados, chios, began in 1900, when ioannis fafalios, with funding from constantinople-based greek expatriate xenophon sideridis, acquired the 1881-built steamship bosphoros. later, in 1911, loukas fafalios, in collaboration with the kaloutas family, purchased another steamship, the alex kaloutas. during the interwar period, dimitrios i. fafalios and his uncle stamos acquired, since 1924, five ships, which were represented in london by s. livanos & co., ltd. in 1934, the family founded meandros ships stores ltd. in cardiff, a supplier of ship stores and provisions. with only one vessel, the stamos, having survived the war, the family acquired the libertytype ships psara and othon, both with the participation of athanassios anastassiou, the director of the homeric maritime agencies office they had established in new york. later, the family added more war-built cargo ships to its fleet and founded a representative office in london under the name fafalios, ltd. in the following decades, the family significantly expanded its activities by acquiring newly-built vessels from european and japanese shipyards. today, fafalios shipping s.a. manages its fleet from piraeus, while maintaining an office in london. the fafalios family had a strong presence in the greek and international shipping community. among others, costas l. fafalios served as president of the hellenic chamber of shipping, dimitris j. fafalios as chairman of intercargo, and his brother charalambos i. fafalios as chairman of the greek shipping cooperation committee. additionally, the family has been engaged in significant charitable and philanthropic work, particularly benefiting the island of chios. FAFALIOS andreadis .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }captain (hadji)frangoulis g. andreadis from vrontados, chios, became a partner in the steamship ioannis moumoutzis in 1901, with his son, georgios f. andreadis, serving as captain. the latter began his shipowing career in 1904, gradually acquiring three steamships before the outbreak of world war i, all of which he captained himself. despite his responsibilities toward his family – three sons and two daughters from his marriage to polytimi kakaris – georgios andreadis was known for his compassion and generosity toward his fellow citizens and his homeland, particularly after the liberation of chios from ottoman rule in 1912. as leader of the liberal party on the island, he was a strong financial supporter of eleftherios venizelos’s political efforts and used his own ships to provide supplies and food to the greek fighters. years later, he financed the construction of a modern building in the port of chios, which operated as a polyclinic under the direction of dr. antonios p. lemos, who was married to his daughter, katerina. during the interwar period, andreadis expanded his shipping activities, acquiring and managing more steamships. at the same time, he was elected as a member of parliament for chios and was appointed as a senator in 1929. his love for his hometown led him to establish the nautical school of vrontados, which later became a secondary school and eventually a nautical high school. his son, stratis andreadis, born in 1905, became one of the most influential personalities in greek business and public life. he distinguished himself particularly in banking and shipping sectors, developing a large fleet of newly-built ships. he served as president of the union of greek shipowners for 14 years and founded the elefsis shipyards. among his many business ventures was the construction of the iconic athens hilton. he passionately pursued an academic career, initially serving as a professor of administrative law at the university of thessaloniki, and later, in 1939, as a professor at the athens university of economics and business. he was rector of the latter institution during the periods 1956 -1957 and 1960 -1961. his business career in greece ended suddenly when all his land-based enterprises were nationalized in 1975. he subsequently settled in paris, where he passed away in 1984. in the mid-1990s, the european court of human rights ordered the greek state to pay significant compensation to his heirs – his sons george, alexandros, and petros from his marriage to rena a. koryzis. today, the shipping activities of the andreadis group are managed by his grandsons. ANDREADIS yannaghas .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }captain stathes yannaghas was born in 1876 in the village of aghia marina, kassos. in 1890, he settled in hermoupolis, syros, and in 1901, he became a minority shareholder of the steamship ermis, purchased with financing from the syros banker ioannis calvocoressis. before the outbreak of the great war, he acquired more steamships, together with other family members while later on he moved to constantinople to pursue business activities with relatives. after the asia minor catastrophe, he returned to hermoupolis and collaborated with the rethymnis brothers and his wife's brother, michael pneumaticos, founding kassos steam navigation s.a., which experienced significant growth. stathes yannaghas passed away in 1942. from his marriage to eugenia i. pneumaticos he had two daughters. nitsa, who married shipowner michael e. kulukundis and fifi, who was married to andreas andrianopoulos, a doctor from patras. during world war ii, andreas andrianopoulos settled in new york, starting an independent career in shipping. from 1950, onwards he collaborated with his brothers georgios and leonidas andrianopoulos, founding nordic ship management ltd., with offices in new york and montreal, canada. in 1960, he relocated to london and founded tropis shipping co., ltd., with michael lentakis as manager. the company operated several ships, including a newlybuilt tanker, the cape araxos, delivered in 1958. a few years later, in 1963, andreas andrianopoulos joined the pegasus ocean services ltd. group, formed in cooperation with the peraticos, xilas, and inglessis families. in 1986, tropis shipping co., ltd. withdrew from the above alliance and the andrianopoulos family established cape shipping s.a. in piraeus. the latter has achieved notable growth in recent decades under the leadership of eugenia a. andrianopoulos. her son, andreas andrianopoulos, is also actively participating in the family business. YANNAGHAS goulandris .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }one of the most distinguished maritime families of andros, the goulandris family traces its roots to ioannis p. goulandris, who, after many years of service as a ship captain, became a minority shareholder in a steamship in 1901. in 1910 and 1913, the family acquired its first fully owned steamships, with the involvement of ioannis’s four sons; captains petros, michael, and basil, as well as chief engineer nicholas. the two vessels generated significant profits during the great war, before being sunk by german submarines in 1917. subsequently, the family – now joined in its business ventures by ioannis’s fifth son, leonidas – began acquiring new ships starting in 1924, gradually expanding its fleet and establishing the management company goulandris bros. in 1931, the eldest son petros passed away, followed by his brother michael in 1935. petros’s family decided to operate independently as from 1937. shortly before the outbreak of world war ii, the three surviving sons of ioannis goulandris purchased an ocean liner aiming to reactivate the transatlantic route, which had been suspended in 1935. the ship, nea hellas, survived the war while under charter to the british government. of the family’s remaining cargo fleet, only two ships survived the war. during the postwar period, the family of petros j. goulandris – led by his sons john, george, constantinos, nicholas, and basil – operated from the united states and grew into one of the most renowned greek shipping groups. their fleet included a large number of liberty-type cargo vessels and, later, newly built ships, primarily tankers. despite the sudden death of the eldest son, john, in 1951, the group continued to thrive with remarkable success through the end of the 20th century. at the same time, the family was distinguished for its charitable and cultural contributions, including the founding of landmark museums in athens and andros. in 1952, leonidas goulandris left goulandris bros., taking over the family’s fleet of four passenger ships, including the nea hellas, and founded greek line. a year later, he passed away and was succeeded by his son, john l. goulandris. the latter strengthened the company through further acquisitions, including the newly built olympia. greek line provided invaluable service on transatlantic routes and later played a key role in the development of greek sea tourism, until it ceased operations in the mid-1970s. in 1953, the family of nicholas j. goulandris established a new group under the name n. j. goulandris ltd., in london with offices in new york and piraeus. led by giannis n. goulandris and his brothers alecos and leonidas, the group enjoyed impressive growth, managing liberty ships and later commissioning the building of a large number of vessels in japanese shipyards. among their entrepreneurial initiatives was the acquisition of the neorion shipyard in syros and its transformation into a modern shipbuilding and repair facility. at the same time, the three brothers and their sister, anna n. goulandris, developed a notable cultural and philanthropic presence. the family of nicholas j. goulandris remains active in shipping today, with the group now led by pavlos and leonidas grypari, grandsons of anna n. goulandris. finally, basil j. goulandris – who served as president of the union of greek shipowners before the war and as a member of parliament for the cyclades after the war – continued to lead the original family company, goulandris bros., supported by his sons john and constantinos. his family, which has also demonstrated significant charitable and philanthropic activity, remains active in shipping today under the leadership of john b. goulandris’s sons, nicholas and george. GOULANDRIS
1902-1903
diacakis .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }brothers ioannis and dimitrios diacakis, sons of master mariner minassis diacakis and kyrania yerogiannis, were born in aghia marina, on kassos island and later settled in hermoupolis, syros. both became distinguished captains. in 1902, they acquired the steamship ioannis, with financing from syros based banker ioannis calvocoressis, after several years of joint operation, they decided to separate their business activities and continue independently. ioannis diacakis acquired a new steamship in 1906, while dimitrios, retained full ownership of the original vessel and purchased another steamship in 1912. ioannis passed away in 1915, shortly after purchasing another steamship, the eugenia j. diacakis. he was succeeded in business by his wife virginia and their four daughters. during the war years, the family’s ship generated substantial profits, which enabled them to purchase a new steamer in 1922. this vessel remained in service until 1930, when it was sold to nicolaos eustathiou, marking the family’s decision to exit the shipping business. dimitrios diacakis partnered with his son minas, who, after studying at the university of athens and in the united kingdom, went to sea and eventually rose to the rank of captain. their shipping ventures during world war i proved highly profitable, and a significant portion of their earnings was invested in real estate in syros. from the early 1920s onward, minas d. diacakis emerged as a dynamic entrepreneur. by 1933, he had acquired five steamships, including two passenger vessels, and had also founded a coastal shipping company. diversifying his business interests, he established a glass factory and, in 1924, acquired and modernized the neorion shipyard, employing approximately 400 workers. minas d. diacakis’s deep commitment to the development of hermoupolis was evident in his civic engagement; he served for many years as a municipal councilor and as chairman of the municipal council. he retired from active shipping in the mid-1930s. from his marriage to evangelia iliadis, he had five sons and five daughters. DIACAKIS caroussis .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }the caroussis family, originating from vrondados, chios, has a long and distinguished history in greek shipping. the brothers apostolos, constantine, pantelis, and themistocles caroussis, sons of master mariner and shipowner isidoros caroussis, entered the steamship trade in 1902, when they became shareholders of a vessel operated by the saliarisnegropontes group. in 1916, they purchased the steamship marie caroussi, which was lost later that year after being hit by an enemy vessel. in the following year, they acquired another vessel, the penelope, and became founding members of the chios steamship company in 1918. this initiative, led by shipowner constantine chr. saliaris, aimed at uniting chian shipowners in a cooperative venture, though it ultimately did not yield the expected results. in 1928, constantine i. caroussis purchased the steamship agii victores, which remained in operation until she was scrapped in 1936. following world war ii, the family continued its shipping activity primarily through isidoros and dimitrios c. caroussis. the two brothers began their careers at a. lusi, ltd., one of the most prominent greek shipping offices in london. in 1960, the caroussis brothers joined forces with their cousins, ioannis and nicolaos a. pittas, who also had ties to the lusi office, to establish chios navigation co. ltd. this partnership marked the beginning of a new era for both families. over the next three decades, the caroussis and pittas families built and managed a notable fleet, including newly-built vessels. after thirty years of successful collaboration, the two families decided to separate their business interests. in 1991, the caroussis family undertook full control of chios navigation co. ltd. in london, along with its greek affiliate, chios navigation (hellas), ltd. today, chios navigation co. ltd. continues to operate in the global shipping arena, with the participation of the next generations of the caroussis family. CAROUSSIS livanos .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }the family of georgios m. livanos from kardamyla, chios, entered steamship activity in 1902 with the acquisition of the ship theofano, financed by the expatriates siderides brothers from constantinople. the command of the ship was assumed successively by his sons, michael and ioannis. the family went on to acquire additional steamships, in which not only the aforementioned brothers served, but also their brother stavros as chief engineer, and later, their youngest brother nicolaos, as second officer. in 1913, the livanos family purchased another steamship, captained by stavros livanos, who had in the meantime earned his master’s license, with nicolaos serving as chief officer. in 1916, stavros livanos settled in london, and a year later, he founded s. livanos & co. ltd., a company that represented the family fleet and also ships owned by other shipowners from kardamyla. throughout the interwar period, the livanos group recorded impressive growth, adding a significant number of ships to its fleet, including a total of 14 newly-built vessels. shortly before the outbreak of world war ii, ioannis g. livanos, one of the four brothers, withdrew from the family business and established his own office in london, john livanos and sons, together with his sons george and michael. after the war, another brother, michael g. livanos, also established an independent office in new york, in partnership with his son george. following the significant wartime losses of their fleet, the livanos group began its reconstruction efforts, with new york as its base. stavros livanos and his brother nicolaos acquired 12 of the 98 liberty-type ships bought by greek shipowners in late 1946. during the same period, stavros purchased an additional twelve vessels of this type directly from the us authorities. by the late 1940s, nicolaos g. livanos withdrew from the group and established his own company. the shipping activities of his family continued through economou & co., tarpon shipping, and n.g. livanos maritime, all operated by the families of his three daughters. employing bold business initiatives, stavros livanos rapidly rose to prominence on the international stage. he spearheaded the group’s entry into the tanker sector with a series of newbuilding orders placed at shipyards in the united states, the united kingdom, west germany, the netherlands, and japan. he also ordered the construction of cargo ships and later bulk carriers at shipyards in the above countries as well as in yugoslavia. in 1960, he was honored by king paul of greece as the owner of the 1,000th ship to be registered in the greek shipping registry since the end of the war. stavros livanos, who passed away in 1963, had married arietta zafirakis, with whom he had two daughters – eugenia, who later married stavros niarchos, and athina, who became the wife of aristotle onassis – as well as a son, george. at the age of 28, george s. livanos took over the leadership of the group, continuing and expanding its dynamic course through the companies s. livanos hellas s.a. and sun enterprises ltd. a landmark moment in his business career was his 1972 order for the building of two large tankers by the -under construction- shipbuilding facility of hyundai heavy industries in south korea. this initiative was instrumental for the future development of the entire south korean shipbuilding industry. over the following decades, sun enterprises ltd. continued renewing its fleet with newbuildings, remaining to this day one of the most robust groups in greek shipping, operating with the active participation of stavros g. livanos. LIVANOS hadjilias .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }the hadjilias family, originally from the village of panaghia in kassos, settled in hermoupolis, syros at the end of the 19th century. in 1902, the brothers elias and pavlos emm. hadjilias, both master mariners, collaborated with the yannaghas brothers, also from kassos, for the acquisition of a steamship, financed by the syros-based banker ioannis calvocoressis. a few years later, the hadjilias brothers separated their interests. elias hadjilias, who married eugenia fonaris and had one son, emmanouel, and two daughters, calliope and thetis, remained active in shipping until world war ii, when he lost two of his five ships. after the war, the family group, under the leadership of emmanouel e. hadjilias, continued its activities, acquiring, among others, newly-built vessels. in 1971, his grandson, elias emm. hadjilias, founded arrow line, a liner company, which operated for about a decade. by the mid-1980s, the parent company hadjilias & co. ceased operations. the family of pavlos emm. hadjilias acquired in 1910 the ownership of a steamship previously owned by his father-in-law georgios e. pappadakis. after the end of the great war, they continued to develop their activities following a conservative attitude and expanded into the textile industry, where his son emmanouel became active. during world war ii, the family lost both of their steamships, which had sailed under the command of pavlos hadjilias’s youngest son, georgios. the latter was widely acknowledged for his seafaring skills and for his involvement with maritime education. in the post-war period, pavlos hadjilias’s family acquired, in collaboration with antonios manthos (husband of their cousin thetis e. hadjilias), a liberty-type cargo ship, which they sold in 1949. today, pavlos emm. hadjilias remains active in shipping, cooperating with his brotherin-law, john m. lyras. HADJILIAS gratsos .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }georgios gratsos was born in ithaca in 1869. after completing his secondary education, he pursued a maritime career and, at the age of 24, obtained his captain's license. in 1903, in partnership with georgios, pericles, and hector dracoulis – brothers of his wife polyxeni – who had already developed a significant activity in romania by managing riverboats on the danube, they acquired the 1892-built steamship odysseus. in the following years, they significantly expanded their company, purchasing more steamships, including newly-built ones. from 1924, georgios gratsos separated his interests from the dracoulis brothers and continued his shipping activities until his death in 1931, working with his sons costas, dimitrios, alkimos, and panos. in the post-war period, having lost their only ship, the gratsos brothers initially focused on rebuilding their business through the acquisition of libertytype ships, following a conservative approach throughout the 20th century. costas gratsos was one of aristotle onassis's closest collaborators, while alkimos gratsos and later his son george a. gratsos made significant contributions to shipping, serving for many years as presidents of the hellenic chamber of shipping. GRATSOS
1903-1905
michalitsianos .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }captain michael michalitsianos, a descendant from an old maritime family of cephalonia, was born in 1855 in the village of lakythra. in 1903, he acquired his first steamship, the polymnia michalitsiano, named after his wife polymnia, née panas. the couple had eight children; three sons and five daughters. michael michalitsianos passed away in 1908, one year after the loss of his ship. in 1909, his son evangelos, also a captain, acquired a steamship from the vaglianos group, which he renamed mikelis in honor of his father. the ship sailed until july 1917, when it was torpedoed and sunk by a german submarine. until that time, she had brought significant profits to the family of his owners, including evangelos's younger brother, captain nicolaos michalitsianos. evangelos michalitsianos resumed his shipowning activity in 1924 by purchasing a steamship from the rethymnis & kulukundis group. he bought another steamship in 1929, which sailed until 1937, when she was sold to foreign interests. in the interwar period, the representation of michalitsianos's shipping interests in london was assigned to the vergottis ltd. office. the michalitsianos family did not continue their shipping activity after the war. however, the grandson of nicolaos michalitsianos, economist costis j. frangoulis, from the marriage of nicolaos's daughter polymnia to john frangoulis, became active in shipping, acquiring and managing vessels through his company imperium shipmanagement s.a. today, he leads the franman group, which has diverse activities in the broader maritime sector. since 2019, he has also served as president of the propeller club, port of piraeus. MICHALITSIANOS goumas .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }master mariner john goumas from spetses acquired the steamship katina in 1905, in collaboration with his fatherin-law, captain vassilios a. polemis from andros. he served as the ship's captain for several years. of his seven sons, four – ghikas, vassilios, nicolaos, and eftychios – followed maritime careers, becoming captains and later shipowners. the eldest, ghikas j. goumas a graduate of the naval college hms worcester, acquired the steamship vassilios a. polemis in 1927, with the assistance of his grandfather vassilios polemis. the ship was later torpedoed and sunk during world war ii. having lost his only ship, ghikas goumas was forced to return to the sea in the postwar years to support his family's livelihood. however, his sudden passing at the age of 52 forced his 18-year-old son, john who was completing his studies also at hms worcester naval college to enroll as a cadet on the liberty-type ship nicolas kairis. after several years of sea service, he became a captain, serving on various greek-owned ships until 1961. at that time, aspiring to become a shipowner, he worked at the shipping office of his uncle, nicos goumas, while developing a close collaboration with shipbrokers nicos and antonis cotzias. in 1971, he founded the company j. g. goumas (shipping) co., s.a., which achieved notable growth over the following decades by acquiring and managing a fleet that included newlybuilt ships. john g. goumas had a long service as a board member in the union of greek shipowners, becoming its president from 1991 until 1997. in 1996, he was awarded by the greek state the commander of the order of the phoenix, in recognition of his contribution to shipping. today, the family of john g. goumas is active through the company equinox maritime ltd., which is managed by his son ghikas goumas and stefanos d. lekanidis, husband of his daughter xenia. GOUMAS culucundis .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }master mariners Εlias and georgios culucundis, sons of captain martis e. culucundis and katerina meleti from the island of kassos, settled with their family in hermoupolis. they became involved in steamship activity in 1905 as minority shareholders. Ιn 1910, elias m. culucundis acquired the steamship sotirios with a loan from banker theodoros pangalos. he sold the ship in 1915 and immediately replaced it with another ship, the katerina, which was sunk in 1917 during the great war. having accumulated significant profits from the operation of his ships in wartime, elias m. culucundis founded at the end of 1917 the elias m. culucundis bank, renamed in 1918 as the hellenic bank of commerce, industry and shipping s.a. at the same time, he also founded the insurance company poseidon. despite a promising start, the bank faced serious difficulties after the end of the great war. elias m. culucundis covered the bank’s losses with capital from his personal fortune. this development forced him to change the course of his life. he initially settled in london and shortly thereafter in marseille. subsequently, he collaborated with his younger brother, georgios m. culucundis, who had already settled in romania after his marriage to maria pappadakis and worked closely with her brother antonis g. pappadakis. on his return to greece in the mid-1930s, georgios m. culucundis became active in shipping, often serving as captain of his ships until the outbreak of world war ii. during the war, he lost the steamship mount kitheron, which he replaced in 1947 by acquiring the liberty-type ship maria g. culucundis. his sons, martis g. culucundis and antonis g. couloucoundis*, continued the family’s maritime tradition. particularly, antonis, working from the united states of america, developed together with his cousin michael emm. kulukundis a multifaceted activity in the oil transport sector, which included the conversion of tankers into floating oil storage facilities and the management of floating drilling rigs. a significant contribution to these activities came from antonis g. couloucoundis’ nephew elias m. culucundis. the latter, having studied naval architecture, was active for a few years in shipping, before cooperating with his aforementioned relatives. his son, martis elias culucundis is today active in shipping.* antonis g. couloucoundis changed the spelling of his surname after relocating to the us. CULUCUNDIS pateras .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }brothers constantis and anastassios d. pateras were two of the nine captains, who in 1905 jointly acquired the first steamship purchased by oinoussians, the marietta ralli. after several years, they followed independent paths in shipping. in 1913, constantis d. pateras purchased, with financing from the michalinos firm, the steamship theodora. the ship was torpedoed and sunk in 1917. he resumed his shipping activity in 1924 by acquiring another steamship, in partnership with his sons georgios, dimitrios, and nicolaos. during the 1930s, the three brothers continued acquiring more ships but they lost their entire fleet in world war ii. they started rebuilding their fleet in 1947 with the purchase of the liberty-type cargo ship constantis. that same year, georgios c. pateras passed away and was succeeded by his son dimitrios. the latter followed an independent course, establishing aegeus shipping s.a., which acquired and operated many ships until recent years. dimitrios’s son, dr. george d. pateras, who collaborated with his father, is still active in shipping. moreover, he has served until recently as president of the hellenic chamber of shipping. anastassios d. pateras, brother of constantis, purchased in 1913, the steamship dimitrios pateras also with financing from the michalinos firm. master mariner john m. lyras, brother of marouko, wife of anastassios pateras, became a minority shareholder of the ship. in 1924, following the passing of anastassios pateras, his eldest son, dimitrios a. pateras, purchased on behalf of his family a steamship, the anastassios pateras, and four years later another one, the marouko pateras. both ships were lost during world war ii. earlier, in 1937, dimitrios a. pateras, representing his family, became a co-founder of the lemos & pateras ltd. office, which played an important role within the greek shipping community in london. in 1946, the family of anastassios pateras acquired the liberty-type cargo ship anastassios pateras. after dimitrios pateras’s passing in 1954, his brother costas a. pateras, and subsequently his son anastassis c. pateras, continued cooperating with the a. g. lemos family. john c. lyras, grandson of dimitrios pateras, from the marriage of his daughter marika to costas j. lyras, has served as president of the union of greek shipowners. today, the residence of anastassios and marouko pateras houses the maritime museum of chios. PATERAS
1905-1907
pateras .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }brothers nicolaos and diamantis j. pateras, along with their eldest brother, constantinos j. hadjipateras, were among the nine captains who jointly participated in the purchase of the first steamship acquired by oinoussians in 1905, the marietta ralli. the three brothers withdrew from the partnership in 1907, acquiring the steamship leandros through a loan from the bank of athens. their partnership expanded with the purchase of two more steamships in 1912 and 1916. all ships were eventually lost during the war. after the end of the first world war, the three brothers decided to act independently. nicolaos j. pateras acquired the steamship nicolaos pateras in 1923. after her loss in 1927, he acquired another steamship, in partnership with his sons, ioannis, stephanos, and constantinos. however, the family encountered serious challenges during the economic crisis of the early 1930s, forcing nicolaos j. pateras to return to sea as a captain. he passed away in 1934 while commanding the steamship taxiarchis. after world war ii, brothers ioannis, stephanos, and constantinos n. pateras resumed their shipping activity, by acquiring in 1947 the liberty-type cargo ship nicolaos pateras. at the same time, they established the shipping firm n. j. pateras sons, ltd., which successfully managed a significant number of vessels – including newly-built ships– until the mid-1980s. on the other hand, diamantis j. pateras also acquired a steamship in 1923, the diamantis pateras. after its loss in 1925, he purchased another steamship the diamantis. with the support of his sons – john, panagos, pantelis, costas, and nicos – he developed his family’s business up to the outbreak of world war ii. in 1937, his eldest son, captain john d. pateras representing his family, was a co-founder of lemos & pateras, ltd. in london. a few years earlier, his brother stephanos pateras, a chemistry graduate, had established vivechrom, a paint manufacturing company. in post-war years, the diamantis j. pateras family continued expanding its fleet by acquiring a large number of ships – mainly liberty-type – from the united states, where costas d. pateras had settled. on his initiative, the company nautilus shipping corporation was established in new york to manage tanker tonnage. in 1951, the family withdrew from lemos & pateras ltd. and founded diamantis pateras ltd., which grew substantially over the following decades by adding many newly-built vessels to its fleet. beyond their long and successful journey in shipping throughout the 20th century, members of the diamantis j. pateras family have been distinguished for their public benefit initiatives. captain john d. pateras holds a special place among greece’s national benefactors, having made significant contributions to society – most notably funding the construction of the seamen’s wing of the evangelismos hospital. equally noteworthy was the charitable work of diamantis pateras’ only daughter, katingo and her husband george ch. lemos. PATERAS hadjipateras .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }one of the oldest seafaring families from oinousses, the hadjipateras family entered steam shipping activity in 1905, when captain constantinos i. hadjipateras, along with his brothers nicolaos and diamantis pateras, and other oinoussian captains, jointly acquired the steamship marietta ralli. in 1907, the three brothers withdrew from the partnership and jointly purchased the steamship leandros, followed by the acquisition of two more vessels before the outbreak of the great war. however, the loss of all the above ships during the war marked the end of their collaboration. since that time, constantinos hadjipateras continued his family’s shipping activity with his sons ioannis, nicolaos, and adamantios. their first steamship, the katingo, was acquired in december 1923, marking the beginning of a long and fruitful journey that continues to this day. after world war ii – during which the family lost two steamships – his sons gradually began to separate their business interests, establishing shipping offices in london and new york, while also rebuilding their fleets through the acquisition of many vessels, including newly-built ones. particularly notable was the development of the family of ioannis c. hadjipateras, whose legacy continues today through the dorian group, established by his grandson john c. hadjipateras. in 1972, the latter partnered with nicolaos m. lyras, brother of his mother maro lyra-hadjipateras. today, the dorian group is a leading player in the lpg shipping market with the active participation of the family’s fifth generation. beyond their successful shipping ventures, the families of costas j. hadjipateras and maro lyra- hadjipateras have been distinguished for their extensive charitable and philanthropic work. finally, the hadjipateras family has also left its mark on culture and has also played an important role participating in shipping organizations. a standout figure was john a. hadjipateras, who served for many years as chairman of the greek shipping cooperation committee in london. HADJIPATERAS cambanis .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }brothers zannis, perrakis, and georgios l. cambanis, all three master mariners from andros, acquired and captained the steamships constantinos bebis and styliani bebis, built to the order of entrepreneur constantinos bebis in 1907 and 1908 respectively. the cambanis family's presence in steamship activities was further enhanced in the following years. despite losing its entire fleet during the great war, its growth continued during the interwar period, mainly under the leadership of leonidas z. cambanis. after his passing in 1927, his sons zannis and georgios took over the family business acquiring more ships until the outbreak of world war ii. having lost three of their ships during the war, zannis and georgios l. cambanis, aided by their sons leonidas z. cambanis and leonidas g. cambanis – born respectively from zannis's marriage to cassandra l. goulandris and georgios's marriage to eleni stathatos – had their fleet reconstructed through acquisitions of second-hand tonnage as well as by placing newbuilding orders. the management of the family's ships was undertaken by the s. g. embiricos co., ltd., through its offices in london and piraeus. in 1981, the cambanis family established their own office in london, under the name hydroussa shipping co., ltd., which remained in operation until the mid-1990s. CAMBANIS
1907-1908
lemos .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }captain antonios g. lemos from oinousses acquired his first steamship, the eleni, in 1907 with financing from expatriate leonidas zarifis from constantinople. after her loss in 1912, he secured funding from banker theodoros pangalos for the purchase of a new vessel. in this effort, he was supported by his two eldest sons, master mariners dimitrios and pantelis a. lemos. the latter was also a qualified engineer. having lost their only ship during the great war, the lemos family continued their activity during the interwar period, under the leadership of the third-born son, spyros, also a master mariner. in 1937, spyros a. lemos established the office lemos & pateras, ltd. in london, in cooperation with members of the diamantis j. pateras, christos m. lemos, and dimitrios a. pateras families. the cooperation of the four families lasted until 1951, when the diamantis j. pateras and the christos m. lemos families established independent firms. during world war ii, the a. g. lemos family lost its entire fleet. however, they managed to recover in the postwar years through successive ship acquisitions, including liberty-type ships. from the mid-1950s, the family also started placing newbuilding orders taking delivery of several cargo ships and bulk carriers. in 1962, following the passing of spyros a. lemos, and the earlier deaths of dimitrios and pantelis a. lemos, the family business continued operating under the leadership of captain polydoros a. lemos, marcos d. lemos, and brothers antonis and nikolas s. lemos. in 1984, nikolas s. lemos established n. s. lemos & co. ltd., in london, while marcos d. lemos and antonis s. lemos maintained the family enterprise lemos & pateras, ltd. however, after the sudden passing of antonis s. lemos, in 1986, the latter ceased operations. utilising his extensive experience and knowledge in the maritime industry, captain nikolas s. lemos achieved remarkable growth for his group over the following decades through an ambitious shipbuilding program of tankers and bulk carriers that began in 1994, in south korea. since the early 2000s, the group continued operating as enesel s.a. today his sons, antonis and filippos n. lemos, who lead the family company, have expanded their interests into containerships and other sectors of maritime activities. beyond their shipping ventures, the antonios g. lemos family is also noted for its philanthropic and cultural contributions. spyros a. lemos and nikolas s. lemos have been recognized for their support of public welfare, especially in their hometown, oinousses. the latter founded the oinousses maritime museum, and has discreetly but generously supported many charitable and cultural initiatives. LEMOS palios .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }the palios family, with deep roots in the shipping industry, originates from chios. antonios palios, son of master mariner pantelis palios, became one of the most distinguished captains of his time, serving on ships owned by leonidas zarifis, a prominent greek entrepreneur from constantinople. in 1907, with a loan from the bank of athens, he acquired the cargo steamship principessa aliki. in 1911, he expanded his shipping business through a partnership with another expatriate, lazaros campourides from russia. together, they acquired the steamship adamantios korais, which a year later became part of the company palios and kampouridis, established in 1912 by antonios palios and orestis, the son of lazaros campourides. the company made a bold move by ordering a newly-built cargo steamship, the nireus, which was delivered in 1915. however, it did not continue to expand in the cargo shipping sector, as in 1916, its partners decided to establish a prominent business consortium aspiring to manage the majority of ships operating on coastal passenger routes. at the same time, they aimed to engage in marine insurance, coal bunkering, and banking. the new company, named as hellenic company of maritime enterprises, acquired passenger vessels from several coastal shipping firms. as a result, immediately after the end of the great war, it managed a fleet of almost thirty passenger ships, while its cargo fleet had been lost. the sudden passing of antonios p. palios in 1919 halted these ambitious plans. his brother, marcos p. palios, who took over the management, had to face multiple challenges. despite his considerable efforts and the priceless contribution of the passenger ships of the company in transporting greek refugees after the asia minor catastrophe, the hellenic company of maritime enterprises was ultimately dissolved in the late 1920s. from the same family line comes captain pantelis s. palios, nephew of antonios and marcos palios. after many years of service at sea – and having survived the torpedoing of his ship during world war ii – pantelis s. palios partnered in 1965 with eleftherios veniamis and isidoros sarantis, acquiring the cargo ship trias. his untimely passing in a car accident the following year led his son, simos, to take over his role in the business partnership. in 1972, the three partners established the management company diana shipping agencies s.a. in 1976, the partnership of the palios, veniamis, and sarantis families came to an end. from that point on, simos p. palios, who retained control of diana shipping agencies s.a., moved on with the participation of his relative, anastassios ch. margaronis, from 1980 onward. over the following decades, the group experienced significant growth, through continuous ship purchases including a large number of newbuildings. semiramis s. palios, simos palios’s eldest daughter, is actively participating in the company while in recent years has had a prominent public presence and currently serves as president of the hellenic marine environment protection association (helmepa). her sister, aliki s. palios, is active independently through the company performance shipping inc., alongside her husband, andreas michalopoulos. PALIOS pittas .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }the brothers georgios, ioannis, frangoulis, dimitrios, and aristeidis n. pittas, master mariners and engineers from vrontados, chios, began their journey in shipping with the acquisition of the steamship artemis in 1907 and, a few years later, the nicolaos in 1914. both ships were sunk by enemy fire during the great war. despite these losses, the pittas brothers resumed their shipping activity immediately after the war. throughout the interwar period, they acquired and managed a total of eight additional steamships. however, they suffered another setback during world war ii, when all four ships they owned prior to its outbreak. in the post-war period, the pittas family, represented mainly by dimitrios and aristeidis pittas, resumed their activities by acquiring new ships, placed under the management of a. lusi ltd., where nicolaos, the son of aristeidis pittas, was employed. in 1960, ioannis and nicolaos a. pittas established chios navigation co., ltd. in partnership with brothers dimitrios and isidoros caroussis, with whom they had family ties, as the latter had married ioanna d. pittas. the cooperation between the two families lasted for three decades. in 1991, aristeidis, nicolaos, and emmanouil i. pittas began a new partnership with oceanbulk maritime s.a., owned by petros pappas. in 1995, they founded eurobulk ltd., which continues to this day, successfully carrying on the pittas family’s shipping legacy, through the management of a modern fleet of bulk carriers and containerships. PITTAS carras .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }the family of captain ioannis carras from kardamyla, chios, acquired the steamship alexandra in 1908 with the support of expatriates spyridon and xenophon siderides from constantinople. collaborating closely his sons constantinos, michail, and panagiotis – the first two serving as captains and the third as an engineer – he earned significant profits until 1924, when the ship was sold to foreign interests. through prudent management, the carras family acquired additional ships, while also establishing an office in chios. they entrusted the representation of their interests in london to the shipping firm p. wigham richardson & co., ltd., which employed several greeks, including angelos lusi. in the 1930s, taking advantage of the drop in steamship values due to the economic crisis, the carras family expanded its fleet. however, in 1939, shortly before the outbreak of world war ii, the families of the three carras brothers decided to separate their interests, though they maintained a joint office in chios. in london, john c. carras partnered with a. lusi ltd., the firm of angelos lusis, while john m. carras founded his own office, carras, ltd., having among its directors his uncle panagiotis j. carras. after the war, john c. carras expanded the fleet of a. lusi ltd. by implementing bold shipbuilding programs in the uk, the netherlands, and japan. following the passing of angelos lusis, in 1956, john carras continued the dynamic development of his group, with the active involvement of his son costas j. carras from the mid-1960s. the group demonstrated multifaceted activities, most notably establishing the iconic porto carras resort in halkidiki, founding a shipyard in khalkis for cruise ship conversions, and the re-establishment of the bank of crete. beyond his business ventures, john c. carras was also active in maritime affairs and served as chairman of the greek shipping cooperation committee in london. his family’s business activities gradually ended shortly before his passing in 1989. his son, costas j. carras, who dedicated much of his life to cultural pursuits, married lydia p. potamianos, with whom he founded the hellenic society for the environment and cultural heritage. john m. carras, married to athina s. difoni, niece of stavros livanos, settled during world war ii, firstly in california and later in new york, becoming one of the most renowned greek shipowners. in 1947, he was among the first greek shipowners to engage in tanker operation, and in 1951 he was the first foreign owner to place a major order for the building of tankers in japan, followed by more order placements for the building of bulk carriers. john m. carras took advantage of nearly all the postwar positive cycles of the shipping market thanks to his well-timed shipbuilding orders, a strategy that continually strengthened his business stature. he remained active in shipping until his passing in 2008, having completed seven decades of creative presence in the industry. his interest for the young people and their education was boundless and expressed through various donations. moreover, he stood out for his modesty and devotion to his family, having four daughters with his wife athina; fotini g. p. livanos, eugenia radziwill, alexandra voureka-petalas, and christina lemos. their families continue to have a significant presence in shipping, while the company carras (hellas) s.a. remains active and dynamicaly growing under the management of his granddaughter, tatiana voureka-petalas. CARRAS
1908-1910
lemos .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }captain constantis m. lemos, from oinousses acquired his first steamship, korais, in may 1908. in 1913, he acquired the steamship adamantios lemos, which was commanded by his sons, michail and panagos. in 1916, her ownership passed to michail, who letter settled in piraeus. michail lemos’s eldest son, costas, studied law at the university of athens but ultimately followed the family’s maritime tradition. he qualified a master mariner, serving on ships owned by relatives. in 1937, he partnered with his cousins marcos and costas i. lyras to establish the london-based shipping office lyras & lemos bros., ltd. by the outbreak of world war ii, he had acquired three steamships – one was later sold, while the other two were torpedoed and sunk. during the war, costas m. lemos relocated to new york, where he played a significant role in the context of the greek shipowners new york committee’s activities, chaired by manuel kulukundis. the committee took the initiative to provide housing for greek seafarers – crews of torpedoed ships unable to return to occupied greece – by establishing seamen’s homes in new york and halifax, canada. after the war, he assisted in coordinating efforts for the acquisition of liberty-type ships for the greek fleet. in the postwar period, starting from new york, costas m. lemos developed a remarkable and multifaceted business career, building one of the largest and most technologically advanced fleets of his time. he established and managed shipping offices not only in new york but also in london and piraeus. at the same time, he actively participated in the maritime community, contributing to the creation of the hellenic war risks club, which provided insurance coverage for greek ships against wartime risks. he worked passionately to promote maritime education and remained active until the end of his life, deliberately avoiding publicity despite his prominent presence in international shipping affairs. the activities of his group have continued successfully over the past thirty years under the leadership of his son, michael c. lemos. georgios m. lemos, younger brother of constantis m. lemos, acquired his first steamship, the alkistis, in 1911, through a loan from the bank of athens. he passed away just one year later. his sons – miltiadis, dimitrios, and andreas – became active in shipping during the interwar period, acquiring steamships with the support of london-based rethymnis & kulukundis ltd. among them, andreas g. lemos left a significant cultural legacy as a distinguished historian and author of many books on shipping. LEMOS voyazides .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }leonidas voyiazides was born in 1881 and grew up in smyrna. he studied engineering in glasgow and later settled in andros, his father’s hometown. in 1910, in collaboration with his father-in-law, cleanthis polemis, he acquired the steamship cleanthis. he made significant progress, acquiring six more steamships before his sudden passing in 1934. in 1929, he was elected senator representing the cyclades islands and served for several years as a member and vice president of the board of directors of the union of greek shipowners. his shipping activities were continued by his son, thrasyvoulos, who, at the age of 25, took over the helm of the family business. with dedication and foresight, he dynamically expanded the companies transmarine shipping agency ltd. in london and rex shipping corporation in athens by acquiring a large number of ships and by placing orders for the construction of cargo ships and bulk carriers. he lived in athens and remained active until his passing in 2001. he was succeeded by his son, leonidas th. voyiazides, who had already taken over the management of the family london office, which remained operational until 2019. VOYAZIDES los .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }the families of the sons of master mariner matheos s. los from vrontados, chios – dimitrios, simos, pantelis, antonis, and costis – became involved in steam shipping from 1910, with the acquisition of the steamship alexandra. at the same time, dimitrios los pursued an independent course by acquiring the eleni. during the interwar period, his brothers went on to purchase the steamships matheos and delphin. engineer costis m. los, actively participated in the family business, saw his shipowning activity coming to an end when the delphin was torpedoed during world war ii. after the war, costis m. los’s sons – tassos, nicos, dimitrios, georgios, and antonios – in collaboration with apostolos k. pezas, acquired two of the 98 liberty-type ships that were purchased by greek shipowners in 1946 and 1947. they also founded the shipping offices c. m. los ltd., in london and martran steamship co., inc., in new york, through which they managed a significant number of ships, primarily of wartime construction. in 1955, they acquired their first newbuilding, the cargo ship ayia markella, marking the beginning of a qualitative upgrade of their fleet. over the following years, they placed further orders with shipyards in both the united kingdom and japan. the founding of vrontados n.e.p.e. in piraeus in 1960 facilitated the management of their fleet, which expanded with bulk carriers and two obos during the 1970s. later, members of the dimitrios and nicos c. los families renewed the fleet with six handymax and panamax ships delivered in china in the early 2000s. more recently, the family returned to japanese shipyards, from which they took delivery of four kamsarmax-type ships. the los family has demonstrated significant charitable work in their hometown through the charitable foundation of the sons of costis m. los. family members have also played an important role in preserving and promoting chios’s maritime history through the chios maritime museum, as well as through the research and publications of dr. matheos d. los, who currently heads the company vrontados s.a. LOS
1910-1914
nomicos .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }master mariner nicolaos nomicos, from oia, santorini, acquired the steamship triantis in 1910, with his sons loucas and ioannis serving as captains until her sale in 1915. during the interwar period, loucas nomicos developed notable activity, initially acquiring small motor vessels and later small cargo steamships, mainly operating in the mediterranean. at the same time, he played a key role in maritime affairs, notably as a founding member of the union of owners of mediterranean cargo ships in 1940. however, world war ii proved disastrous for him, as he lost almost his entire fleet, managing to save only one ship. the greatest personal tragedy occurred in 1944, when his second-born son, ioannis, was lost in the aegean sea while traveling on a caique transporting food supplies. despite these losses, loucas nomicos remained in piraeus throughout the german occupation, serving as president of the union of greek shipowners. from this position, he bravely resisted the occupiers’ attempts to take ownership of greek ships chartered to the british government in support of the allied war effort. after the end of the war, loucas nomicos began rebuilding his shipping business, with the support of his sons, nicos and dimitrios. in 1955, the former founded loucas nomicos (england) ltd. in london, which successfully managed ships owned by the family and other greek shipowners. loucas nomicos served as president of the union of greek shipowners until 1950, while also dedicating himself to public affairs in piraeus, serving on the municipal council and contributing significantly to philanthropic efforts through various charitable foundations. in the 1980s, brothers nicos and dimitrios nomicos expanded into passenger shipping, establishing nomicos lines to operate ferry routes. nicos l. nomicos also served as president of the hellenic chamber of shipping from 1977 to 1984. on the other branch of the family, nicolaos j. nomikos, son of ioannis n. nomikos, brother of loucas, acquired his first ship in 1952, naming her capetan giannis in honor of his father. he subsequently expanded his fleet through his company n. j. nomikos, which remained active until the mid-1970s. today, the maritime legacy of the nicolaos j. nomikos family continues through nicos hadjiyiannis, son of maria, daughter of nicolaos j. nomikos, and cypriot shipowner andreas hadjiyiannis. NOMICOS georgandis .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }captain antonios georgandis, from vrontados, chios, acquired his first steamship, the 1883-built antonios, in 1911. his sons, george, michael, and menelaos, continued the family’s shipping activity, acquiring a total of five ships by the outbreak of world war ii. during the war, their fleet was decimated, as they lost all three steamships they owned at the time. in the postwar period, they acquired a small number of ships, gradually scaling down their shipping operations. their sister, eugenia a. georgandis, married john d. chandris in 1920, with whom she had two sons, demetrius and anthony. after the war, having lost their father at an early age, the two brothers – with the decisive support of their mother – entered the shipping arena from london and evolved into prominent figures in international shipping, with diverse activities. of particular importance to greece were the brothers’ pioneering initiatives in the passenger shipping sector, through which they rendered invaluable contributions in two nationally significant areas; migration and the development of tourism on the greek islands. the respect held by the greek shipping community for both brothers was reflected in anthony chandris being elected president of the union of greek shipowners, while demetrius chandris served as president of the greek shipping cooperation committee in london. furthermore, the founding of intercargo was based on an idea proposed by anthony chandris. both brothers were also distinguished for their contributions to public welfare, culture, and education, particularly in their homeland. the sons of demetrius chandris, john and michael, continued and significantly expanded the family’s shipping interests, particularly in the tanker and bulk carrier sectors. in addition, they founded the emblematic company celebrity cruises, commissioning the construction of five innovative cruise ships in germany. their sister, eugenia, successfully expanded the hotel business originally established by their father. the family of demetrius chandris continues to maintain a strong presence in the shipping industry, with the active involvement of demetrius j. chandris and marietta and antonis m. chandris. GEORGANDIS lyras .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }captain ioannis m. lyras from oinousses, studied in aix-en-provence, france, and in 1913 became a shareholder in the steamship dimitrios pateras. his sons, marcos and costas, from his marriage to maria c. lemos, settled in london after completing their studies and collaborated with the office of angelos lusis. in 1934, they purchased a steamship, which they renamed granicos. in 1935, in partnership with georgios n. lyras, husband of their sister angela, they acquired the steamship galaxias. in 1936, they founded lyras ltd., which a year later was renamed lyras & lemos bros., ltd. when they cooperated with their cousin costas m. lemos. after losing both of their ships during world war ii, the lyras family began rebuilding their fleet by acquiring liberty-type cargo vessels. in 1951, under the leadership of marcos and costas lyras, together with georgios n. lyras and the involvement of industrialist alexandros gabriel – husband of their sister, despina j. lyras – the company lyras bros., ltd. was founded in london. the company experienced significant growth, constructing ships in the united kingdom, west germany, and yugoslavia, including tankers. shortly before 1980, the management of the lyras family’s interests passed to the next generation. the gabriel family partnered with the family of captain eleftherios veniamis to establish the golden union group, while john m. lyras and brothers john and dimitris c. lyras jointly continued the operation of lyras bros., ltd. until 1995, when they decided to separate their interests. john m. lyras founded the company lyras maritime ltd. in london in collaboration with pavlos emm. hadjilias, brother of his wife eugenia, while john and dimitris c. lyras founded lyras shipping ltd. representing the family of costas lyras. members of the lyras family have played a prominent role in maritime affairs. marcos j. lyras and his son john served for many years as vice presidents of the greek shipping cooperation committee in london; costas j. lyras served as vice president of the union of greek shipowners, while his son, john c. lyras, served as president of the ugs from 1997 to 2003. LYRAS dracopoulos .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }master mariner marcos g. dracopoulos, member of a seafaring family from keramies in cephalonia, acquired, in 1914, the steamship empros in partnership with expatriate xenophon dimas, an industrialist from smyrna, and other greek entrepreneurs based in constantinople. in 1916, the ship sank after colliding with a british steamship, and marcos dracopoulos was unable to collect the insurance compensation. he passed away two years later, leaving behind his wife and three underage children. his eldest son, evangelos, also a professional seafarer, was lost in 1942 when the ship he was serving on as a second officer was torpedoed by a german submarine during world war ii. his younger son, george m. dracopoulos, born in mykonos, studied law with a specialization in maritime law. after successfully claiming compensation for the loss of the empros, he entered the shipping industry, acquiring the steamship avance in 1951 in collaboration with industrialist bodossakis athanassiadis. together, they expanded their fleet during the same decade, eventually founding the management company empros shipping co., ltd. at the end of the 1950s. their partnership continued until 1969, when athanassiadis established prodromos lines. in the 1970s, george dracopoulos expanded into shipbuilding, taking delivery of newly-built vessels from shipyards in the united kingdom and japan. in the early 1990s, the operation of the group was passed on to his daughters, anna dracopoulos and katerina haritatos-dracopoulos. also involved in managing the family business are his grandson, george makrymichalos, and vassilis logothetis, the son of george dracopoulos’ sister, danae. george m. dracopoulos and his wife, ioanna, née cotzias, made a significant cultural contribution, most notably through the establishment of the aegean maritime museum in mykonos in 1983. the museum is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of greek maritime history, with a particular focus on the merchant shipping heritage of the aegean sea. DRACOPOULOS
1915-1925
xilas .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }the family of michalios xilas, from kardamyla, chios, acquired the steamship tharros in 1915 in partnership with aristeidis mylonas. the ship was captained by his eldest son, ioannis m. xilas. during the interwar period, ioannis acquired additional steamships in collaboration with his brothers, elias and aristeidis, as well as their sister antonia, who was married to constantinos peraticos. ioannis m. xilas’s daughter, titika, married achilleas halcoussis, who entered the shipping industry after the war and developed significant activity until the mid1980s. aristeidis m. xilas founded a shipping agency in hamburg during the interwar period, but in 1939 he was forced to return to greece. after the war, he reestablished his office in hamburg and collaborated with his nephews michael and panagiotis peraticos through the faros shipping office of michael m. xylas, acquiring equity participation in the latter’s ships. in 1955, aristeidis m. xilas and the peraticos brothers founded tharros shipping co. ltd., and in 1963, in collaboration with the inglessis, andrianopoulos, and lentakis families, established pegasus ocean services, ltd. at the same time, the above group placed its first order for the construction of a new ship, delivered in 1965, marking the beginning of a long series of shipbuilding projects in japan for the pegasus ocean services, ltd. participating families. from the late 1980s, the group’s collaborating members gradually began to operate independently. michael c. peraticos retained pegasus ocean services ltd., and in 1991, together with his sons, costis and nicos, acquired the elefsis shipyards facility from the greek state. tragically, costis m. peraticos was assassinated by members of the terrorist organisation “17 november.” later attempts by nicos m. peraticos to restructure the pegasus ocean services ltd. fleet were unsuccessful. the family of panagiotis c. peraticos operated independently from 1991 in the tanker sector through pleiades shipping agents, led by constantinos p. peraticos and stamatis vellis, husband of his sister, ninetta p. peraticos. as of 2025, the interests of these families have separated. the peraticos family retained pleiades shipping agents, while the vellis family founded the companies delia tankers and delia bulkers. the shipping activity of the family of aristeidis m. xilas, which was continued after his passing by his son michalios, is now represented by the company tide line inc., founded in the 1990s by costis p. xanalatos, husband of iris xilas xanalatos. the company is headed by their son, paris c. xanalatos. XILAS vlassopulos .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }the six brothers theodoros, antonios, stylianos, spyridon, ioannis, and philippos vlassopulos were born in sulina, romania, where their father, nicolaos vlassopulos from ithaca, worked as a broker and shipping agent. the eldest, theodoros, after gaining experience in greek shipping offices in rotterdam and london, founded the shipping firm vlassopulo bros. in london in the early 1920s, in partnership with his brothers spyridon and ioannis. earlier, in 1919, antonios and stylianos vlassopulos – serving as captain and chief engineer respectively – had acquired the 1893-built steamship istros. during the interwar period, the family expanded its fleet with additional vessels. following world war ii, philippos and ioannis vlassopulos, both master mariners, took delivery of the liberty-type cargo ship stylianos n. vlassopulos in 1947, with philippos serving as her master. in 1939, spyridon n. vlassopulos had acquired full ownership of the family ship ithaki, which he renamed moldova, before relocating with his family to new york where he founded vlassopulos agencies s.a., a company that went on to acquire three liberty-type cargo ships. in 1962, his son nicos returned to london and partnered with the sons of stylianos vlassopulos, nicolaos and ioannis. in 1967, he acquired the family’s first tanker, telemachos, followed by two more. his sons, spyridon and dimitris n. vlassopoulos – through his marriage to christina inglessis – continue the family’s shipping tradition today, holding executive positions in a major shipping group. nicolaos and ioannis s. vlassopulos continued to operate vlassopulo bros. in london after the war, renaming it n. & j. vlassopulos ltd. in 1956. they managed a significant number of vessels, including two cruise ships and several newly-built sd-14 cargo ships, and also founded and operated the liner company ulysses line. alongside their business ventures, they distinguished themselves within london’s maritime community and contributed to cultural initiatives, promoting the history of their ancestral homeland. VLASSOPULOS eustathiou .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }nicolaos eustathiou was born in phocaea, ionia, in 1881. he graduated at the age of 18 from the renowned evangelical school of smyrna and was immediately hired as a teacher, a position he held for four years. he then joined the crew of a cargo ship owned by shipowner hadji-daut farkouh, and gradually worked his way up, assuming the captaincy of a steamship owned by the lykiardopulo family in 1915. after settling with his family in piraeus, he acquired his first ship in 1924, naming her after his wife, marietta, née koudis. shortly before the outbreak of world war ii, having acquired another steamship, nicolaos eustathiou placed, through the rethymnis & kulukundis ltd. office, an order with shipbuilders in glasgow for the construction of two cargo ships. the vessels, marietta e. and michael e., were delivered in 1940 and 1941 respectively, under the british flag and managed by a british company under the control of the rethymnis & kulukundis ltd. both ships were later torpedoed and sunk by german submarines. after the war, nicolaos eustathiou, now supported by his son michalis – who had studied at the naval academy hms worcester – began reconstructing his business, acquiring the libertytype cargo ship michalakis. this was followed by the acquisition of additional ships, with the eustathiou group expanding dynamically and turning to the construction of cargo ships and bulk carriers in the united kingdom, west germany, and yugoslavia. nicolaos eustathiou passed away in 1966. two years later, his son michalis eustathiou was tragically killed while piloting his private aircraft. despite this loss, the family business continued to operate and grow under the leadership of his wife, nana eustathiou. nicolaos eustathiou and his wife, marietta, were notable contributors to significant philanthropic work. EUSTATHIOU marcou .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }the marcou family, originating from the village of aghia marina on the island of kassos, held a distinguished presence in the shipping industry. emmanouil marcou, born in 1910, later settled in syros, where he pursued a maritime career and served for many years as a ship captain. in 1925, he acquired his first steamship, the markakis, followed by the nikos marcou-- named after his two sons, marcos and nicos, from his marriage to eugenia vintiadis. following the economic downturn of the early 1930s, he sold both vessels and, in collaboration with rethymnis & kulukundis, ltd., acquired the mount othrys. however, the family faced significant challenges after world war ii, particularly with the loss of this vessel in an accident in 1944. undeterred, emmanouil marcou and his sons focused on rebuilding their shipping enterprise. they established marcou & sons co., ltd. in london, gradually expanding their operations and managing a substantial fleet. among them was the newly built athena, delivered in 1959, which further solidified the company's standing in the industry. in 1965, the two brothers chose to pursue independent paths in shipping. marcos marcou founded m. marcou shipping co., ltd. in partnership with his brother-in-law, constantinos georgopoulos, while nicos marcou established n.e. marcou shipping agencies, ltd. both companies continued active operations into the 1980s. throughout their careers, the marcou family maintained close ties to their native kassos. emmanouil and his sons contributed to local infrastructure development and supported various initiatives aimed at improving the quality of life on the island. MARCOU pateras .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }captain vassilios i. pateras, from oinousses, acquired the steamship kostis, in 1925, in collaboration with kostis e. lemos and with financial support from stavros g. livanos. the ship was captained by his brother, nicolas j. pateras, who was also a shareholder. after her sale in 1929, the vessel was replaced by the dirphys, acquired once again with financing from stavros livanos, with captain nicolas j. pateras also participating in the venture. the dirphys was sold in 1936 to foreign interests and replaced by another vessel of the same name, which was torpedoed and sunk in 1941. after the end of world war ii, the pateras family acquired, in 1947, one of the 98 liberty-type ships purchased by greek shipowners from the united states, renaming her dirphys. the s. g. livanos group also participated in this acquisition. shortly after the passing of nicolaos j. pateras, his sons, john and diamantis – who had already served as captains on family-owned vessels – decided to pursue an independent course, establishing pateras bros., ltd. in piraeus. the company experienced significant growth in the following decades, with two newly-built cargo ships, the nefos ii and the n.j. pateras, joining its fleet in 1971 and 1974, respectively. in 1992, nicolas d. pateras, son of diamantis n. pateras, assumed leadership of the family group. two years later, he founded pacific & atlantic corporation, which went on to acquire and manage a large number of ships. during the last decade, he also founded contships management inc., which currently manages a fleet of approximately fifty containerships. in addition to his successful business ventures, nicolas d. pateras established the nicolas d. pateras foundation in 2006, which, during its two decades of operation, has carried out extensive philanthropic and charitable work. nicolas d. pateras's children, diamantis and anastasia, are also actively involved in the group's activities. PATERAS
1928
livanos .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }john g. p. livanos, from kardamyla, chios, began his maritime career and became a ship captain at a young age. in 1928, in partnership with fellow islander markos g. frangos, he acquired the steamship agios nicolaos. later, in 1939, he purchased the steamship annitsa, which was torpedoed and sunk during world war ii. following the war, he settled in new york, where he continued his shipping activities. in 1947, he acquired the liberty-type cargo ship panagiotis, which was managed by the office of fellow chian shipowner john m. carras. at the time, his nephew george p. livanos – the son of his brother, captain panagiotis g. livanos, who died in a car accident in athens in 1945 – was also working at carras’s office. in 1949, john g. p. livanos acquired another vessel, and in 1950, he founded seres shipping, inc. in new york and ceres shipping co., ltd. in london. he entrusted management of the company to his nephew george p. livanos, who subsequently succeeded him. a few years later, george was married to fotini, the eldest daughter of john m. carras. the couple had two children; panagiotis (peter) and marina. the seres group took delivery of its first newly-built ships in 1956 and 1957 from the japanese shipyard hakodate dock co. ltd., with which it maintained a close collaboration over the following decades, building a total of 40 vessels. in the late 1960s, george pioneered the development of a fleet of over fifty mini bulk carriers challenging the prevailing trend toward larger ships and proving the commercial viability of smaller, more flexible vessels. his contribution to greek coastal shipping was equally significant. through the introduction of high-speed “flying dolphins”, he played a transformative role in the development of the saronic gulf region and the growth of greek tourism. motivated by a deep sense of environmental responsibility, george p. livanos founded helmepa (hellenic marine environment protection association), an organization rooted in the greek tradition of integrity and emphasizing the cooperative spirit between seafarers and shipowners. renowned for his organizational and leadership abilities, george served as the first greek president of bimco (baltic and international maritime council), leading a major restructuring of the organization during his tenure from 1989 to 1991. george p. livanos is regarded as one of the great visionaries of modern greek shipping. he stood out for his innovative thinking, distinctive leadership style, and pioneering ideas. above all, he was admired for his compassion and steadfast commitment to the public benefit. his son, panagiotis g. livanos, has successfully carried forward the family legacy over the past three decades. among his major accomplishments is the founding of gaslog lng services, which has grown into one of the world’s leading operators of lng vessels. LIVANOS polemis .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }spyros m. polemis, a chief engineer from andros, entered the shipping industry in 1928 by acquiring his first steamship, the theotokos. in 1932, he acquired a second steamship, the theomitor, which survived world war ii and continued sailing until 1948, when she was sold to foreign interests. the family business was subsequently developed by his three sons – michail, leonidas, and avgoustis – who established offices in athens and new york in 1953. they expanded their fleet mainly with ships built during the war, and in 1959 they took delivery of their first newly-built cargo ship, the spiros polemis. over time, the families of the three brothers moved on to establish independent groups. avgoustis s. polemis founded windward shipping (london) ltd. in 1968, managing oceangoing vessels. he later acquired a shipbuilding facility in perama, where he constructed a series of small cargo ships and, in 1974, a passenger ferry. this marked the beginning of a coastal shipping fleet with passenger-vehicle ferries. this activity ended following the tragic sinking of one of the company’s ships in 1983. after his death in 1985, his group continued operating, managing four newly-built bulk carriers until the early 1990s. spyros m. polemis founded polesons (london) ltd. in 1971 and seacrest shipping co., ltd. in 1973 in london. he acquired and managed a fleet of bulk carriers and tankers, including newlybuilt ships, and was later joined by his children, michalis, anna, and leonidas. he passed away in 2024, having had a fruitful career and an active presence in the shipping community, serving among others as vice chairman of the greek shipping cooperation committee, chairman of intercargo, and of ics/isf. his group continues its operations, now led by anna and leonidas s. polemis. finally, brothers spyros and adamantios l. polemis founded polembros shipping, ltd. in london in 1974, developing a large fleet primarily consisting of tankers. in 2013, they decided to separate their business interests; spyros l. polemis’s family retained polembros shipping, ltd., while adamantios l. polemis’s family established new shipping ltd., both managing fleets of bulk carriers and tankers, including many newly built vessels. in recent years, members of the new generation of the family have also become involved in both companies. POLEMIS poutous .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }panagiotis m. poutous from kardamyla, chios, began his maritime career as an engineer on steamships before acquiring, in 1928, the steamship kardamyla in partnership with georgios melis. subsequently, after transferring his shareholding to the group rethymnis & kulukundis ltd., in 1929 he acquired the majority of shares in another steamship, which he named michalis poutous. in 1936, he purchased a younger steamship, which he also named michalis poutous. that same year, he sold half of his shares to lawyer michael m. xylas, husband of his niece stamatia k. poutous. the steamship was renamed aris, but she was torpedoed and sunk in october 1939. panagiotis poutous had her replaced with a new steamship, which, however, was also sunk in april 1941 at souda following a german air attack. his partnership with michael m. xylas continued after the war. in 1949, the latter founded faros shipping co., ltd., which evolved into one of the most important greek shipping offices in london. after panagiotis poutous passed away in 1951, michael m. xylas took full control of the group, in which hara p. poutous and her daughters, kiki and mary, retained interests. the group experienced significant growth, taking delivery of four newly-built ships from british shipyards by the end of the 1950s. in 1958, lawyer antonis j. xylas, nephew of michael m. xylas, was married to kiki p. poutous and began collaborating with him representing the interests of the poutous family. in 1960, a representative office was also established in piraeus under the name pyrsos shipping co., ltd., led by antonis j. xylas and his elder brother, captain marcos j. xylas. in the mid-1960s, michael m. xylas started his cooperation with the major japanese shipyards ihi, from which faros shipping co., ltd. took delivery of over 30 newly-built vessels over the next two decades. following michael m. xylas’s passing in 1982, the management of the group passed to antonios j. xylas, who, however, died suddenly five years later. after his passing, the families of michael m. xylas and antonios j. xylas separated their interests. the shipping activity of the poutous family continues through the children of kiki a. xylas, who manage ariston navigation co., a company operating a fleet of newly-built bulk carriers. the company is led by john a. xylas, grandson of panagiotis poutous, with participation of the families of his sisters, hara and katerina. john a. xylas was recently elected president of the international shipping organization intercargo. POUTOUS
1949-1950
kyriakou .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }minas kyriakou, originally from constantinople, purchased a small british steamship in 1903 in partnership with other investors. the vessel was registered in syros under the name vithynia and was eventually sold to foreign interests in 1905. one of his four sons, xenophon m. kyriakou, pursued a maritime career. he studied at the hydra maritime academy and rose to the rank of ship captain. in 1949, he acquired the villa franca, a panamanian-flagged cargo ship, which he both managed and captained until 1951. he later relocated with his family to poland, before returning to greece in 1958. his son, minas (minos) kyriakou, was born in 1942 on the island of poros and began his maritime career as a cadet. after completing high school, he pursued studies at columbia university in new york and briefly worked at the offices of shipowner costas m. lemos. in 1969, minos returned to greece and, together with his father, acquired a 1955-built german tanker. the vessel was renamed athenian and registered under the greek flag. over the following decade, the kyriakou family significantly expanded their presence in the shipping industry, focusing on tankers transporting chemicals and edible oils. from the early 1980s, they started investing in newbuildings, acquiring ten newly-built cargo and tanker vessels from shipyards in the soviet union. in the mid-1980s, minos kyriakou diversified into the media sector, founding antenna fm in 1987, followed by the launch of the ant1 television channel. simultaneously, he became deeply involved in sports and philanthropic activities. in 1985, he established the aegean foundation and later served as president of the panellinios gymnastic club and of the hellenic olympic committee from 2004 to 2009. after his passing in 2017, his business legacy has been carried on by his sons, xenophon and theodoros m. kyriakou. KYRIAKOU papalios .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }captain nikolaos d. papalios, son of master mariner dimitrios g. papalios and irini, née psomostathis, was born in kardamyla, chios. after completing his secondary education, he began his maritime career as a cadet aboard the ships of stavros livanos, later rising to the rank of captain. following the end of world war ii, during which he served continuously at sea, he entered a new phase of his career. after settling in alexandria, where he married theodora petrovits, he established a shipping agency in partnership with his father-in-law, s. petrovits. in 1949, he acquired his first ship, marking the beginning of his entrepreneurial journey in the shipping industry. initially, he had his ships represented in london by carras, ltd., and later by n. & j. vlassopulos. toward the end of the 1950s, he founded his own office in piraeus, aegis shipping co., ltd. with tireless dedication and entrepreneurial vision, he built a substantial fleet, primarily through the acquisition of secondhand cargo ships and tankers. in 1968, he took delivery of his first newbuilding, a british-built sd-14 cargo ship, which was followed by nine sister ships constructed at the same british shipyards and at hellenic shipyards s.a. in skaramanga. an additional of four similar vessels were also built in west germany. in the early 1970s, his group launched a long-term shipbuilding program in spain, resulting in the construction of 33 bulk carriers between 1971 and 1978 at astilleros españoles shipyards. however, the severe shipping crisis of the early 1980s, combined with the excessive growth of his fleet, led to a series of management challenges. these ultimately brought his business career to an early close by the mid-1980s. PAPALIOS angelicoussis .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }antonis c. angelicoussis from kardamyla, chios, was a seafarer and owner of sailing ships in the late 19th century. his son, ioannis, followed his steps until the end of world war i. ioannis’s sons, antonis and manolis, pursued careers at sea – antonis as a radio operator and manolis as an engineer. after surviving two torpedo attacks, antonis moved to alexandria, where he was trained as a paratrooper by british forces. he participated in the resistance in crete and was honored by both greek and british authorities. in 1946, he married maria d. papalios, who encouraged him to pursue an entrepreneurial career in shipping. along with his brother manolis, captain panagiotis kaloudis, and shipping agent dimitris efthymiou, he founded the angelicoussis-efthymiou group, acquiring their first ship in 1950. this was followed by the purchase of liberty-type cargo ships while later they collaborated with the tharros shipping office of the peraticos family. in 1966, the angelicoussis-efthymiou group placed its first shipbuilding orders in japan, beginning with the bulk carrier afovos, delivered in 1968, followed by a series of freedom-type bulkers. from 1971, antonis angelicoussis began operating independently, founding anangel shipping enterprises s.a. in 1986, he partnered with american express to establish anangel-american shipholdings (aasl) – a groundbreaking initiative for greek shipping at the time. he passed away in 1989, leaving the management of the group to his children, john and anna angelicoussis. in the early 1990s, under john angelicoussis’s leadership, the angelicoussis group launched a large shipbuilding program in south korea, which soon positioned it as a leader in both dry bulk and tanker sectors. in 2001, the two siblings decided to separate their business interests. john retained the parent company, while anna angelicoussis established her own group by developing the angelicoussis’s familycontrolled subsidiary alpha tankers & freighters international ltd. after acquiring full control of the family shares in anangel-american shipholdings limited (aasl), john angelicoussis took the company private, delisting it from the new york stock exchange. he subsequently went on to place successive orders for tankers and bulk carriers, and also pioneered the development of an lng carrier fleet through the newly founded company maran gas. with a consistent strategy of ordering newbuildings – primarily in south korea – maran gas along with his other two entities, maran tankers and maran dry, established the john angelicoussis group as the leading shipping enterprise in greece. after his sudden death in 2021, the leadership passed on to his daughter, maria, who has been successfully continuing her father’s legacy. anna angelicoussis, inspired by her father’s entrepreneurial spirit, dynamically developed the alpha tankers & freighters, alongside her sons, frangiskos and antonis kanellakis. the anna angelicoussis group operates through three management companies – alpha bulkers shipmanagement inc., alpha gas s.a., and pantheon tankers ltd. having made significant investments over the past 15 years to build a modern fleet, which today comprises more than 80 vessels. ANGELICOUSSIS
1959-1966
nomikos .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }anastassios m. nomikos was born in santorini in 1920, coming from a seafaring family. his passion for the sea led him, after graduating from the syros high school, to begin his maritime career aboard vessels owned by petros nomikos. at the beginning of world war ii, he sailed on small boats to support his family. in 1942, he relocated to the middle east, where he took command of steamships owned by his uncle, evangelos p. nomikos. after the war, he served in the royal hellenic navy as a reserve officer for five years and served as captain of a minesweeper. he then attended a naval academy in southampton before assuming managerial duties in evangelos p. nomikos’s company, where he was involved in the group’s shipbuilding program in japan. in 1959, while still working for his uncle’s firm, he acquired his first steamship, the 1939-built freighter annika, followed in 1962 by a secondone, the calypso, built in 1950. encouraged by evangelos p. nomikos, he founded his own management company in 1963, named a. m. nomikos transworld maritime agencies s.a., gradually developing a notable fleet of cargo ships and bulk carriers. in 1982, anastassios nomikos established an office in london the a. m. nomikos and son (uk) ltd., while in 1986, he took delivery of the group’s first newly-built bulk carrier from a japanese shipyard, named angelina the great n. he was married to angele iatrou in 1955, a devoted supporter of his business vision from the beginning. together they had three children; annika, calypso, and markos, who carried forward and expanded the family business after his passing in 1993. today, a. m. nomikos transworld maritime agencies s.a. continues its legacy, managing a fleet of approximately 40 bulk carriers. NOMIKOS methenitis .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }kleovoulos methenitis born in 1931 in glyfada, was the youngest of three children of the lawyer constantinos methenitis. he studied at the naval school of hydra, rose to captain serving on ocean-going vessels, and later became an important executive in the group of nicolaos livanos. in 1964, together with his brother meletis, a lawyer specialising in maritime law, they acquired their first ship, the sunny med, which they renamed dinos. subsequently, they developed a significant fleet and, in 1967, they established the methenitis bros. office in london. in 1976, they amicably divided their business interests. kleovoulos founded methenitis & sons, while meletis established methenitis shipbrokers. both brothers terminated their shipowning careers after the mid-1980s and limited their engagement to being shareholders in ships owned by their relatives. meanwhile, meletis methenitis dedicated the later years of his life to collect documents and artworks related to merchant shipping. their sister, athina methenitis, wife of art dealer ioannis martinos, also entered the shipping industry with the support of her brothers and husband. in 1964, she acquired a 1949-built cargo ship, which she renamed thanassis. by 1970, having added two more ships to her fleet, she founded the company thenamaris maritime inc., appointing her eldest son, thanassis, as its head. although only 20 years old, thanassis – driven by a keen interest in shipping and having closely followed the business activities of his uncles – successfully rose to the challenge. throughout the 1970s, thenamaris expanded steadily, reaching a fleet of 40 ships by decade’s end, with significant contributions from athina and ioannis martinos’s younger sons, constantinos and andreas. the company proved exceptionally resilient during the devastating shipping crisis of the following decade, which decimated many other fleets. by the early 1990s, with the thenamaris fleet numbering around 50 ships, the three martinos brothers began to separate their business activities, with the encouragement and moral support of their mother, athina. in 1991, thanassis martinos founded eastern mediterranean maritime ltd., rapidly expanding the company with a focus on shipbuilding in south korea. a few years later, his brothers undertook similar shipbuilding initiatives through thenamaris. in 1996, the youngest brother, andreas martinos, left the group to establish minerva marine inc., while constantinos martinos remained at the helm of thenamaris. since then, the companies founded by the three brothers have experienced dynamic growth, firmly establishing the martinos family as one of the leading names in modern greek shipping. in addition to their shipping activities, members of the martinos family have made significant philanthropic and cultural contributions. special mention should be made of thanassis martinos, who, with the support of his wife marina, has emerged as a major contemporary national benefactor. METHENITIS veniamis .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }eleftherios veniamis was born in 1913 in vrontados, chios. Αfter graduating from the merchant school of chios, he pursued a career at sea. having survived two torpedo attacks during world war ii, he eventually rose to the rank of captain and, in 1947, took command of the cargo ship dioni, owned by shipowner stratis andreadis. he later worked on ships belonging to the group of stavros livanos. in 1965, he acquired the cargo ship trias in collaboration with captains pantelis palios and isidoros sarantis. pantelis palios passed suddenly in 1966 and was succeeded by his son, simos p. palios. the partnership continued until 1976, when veniamis and sarantis withdrew and, the following year, they cofounded a new management entity, golden union, with the participation of the families of eleftherios veniamis, captain evangelos andreadis from oinousses, and textile industrialist alexandros gabriel, with isidoros sarantis also participating in its initial formation. golden union was led by theodoros e. veniamis, with key members of the leadership team including michael e. veniamis, george a. gabriel, marianthi e. andreadis, and christoforos e. andreadis. in the following decades, golden union experienced remarkable growth and was recognized as one of the most modern and dynamically evolving shipping companies. at the same time, it expanded into real estate investments, construction, and services related to shipping. beyond his business endeavours, theodoros e. veniamis had a distinguished career in maritime affairs, serving as president of the union of greek shipowners from 2009 to 2022. today, younger members of the founding families are also involved in the group’s activities. VENIAMIS hadjieleftheriadis .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }basil hadjieleftheriadis from sinassos in cappadocia, settled in greece in 1924. he was married to eleni triantafyllidou, with whom he had seven children – five daughters and two sons. one of his sons, apostolos b. hadjieleftheriadis, after completing his military service as a reserve ensign, continued his career in the merchant navy. his brother, gregory hadjieleftheriadis, also became a captain, having studied at the hydra maritime academy. two of basil hadjieleftheriadis’ sons-in-law also pursued maritime careers. john e. karastamatis, from andros, who was married to erato b. hadjieleftheriadis, began his career in 1949 as a cadet on an ocean liner operated by goulandris bros., eventually becoming a captain with a specialisation in tankers. erric b. kertsikoff, born in piraeus and son of a refugee officer of the russian imperial army, was married to loula b. hadjieleftheriadis and worked for twenty years on tankers, mainly those of aristotle onassis. in 1966, the four aforementioned captains, in collaboration with entrepreneur stavros tsonis, acquired a cargo ship, founding eletson corporation. after acquiring a second cargo ship, they focused on tankers. eventually coming exclusively under the control of members of the hadjieleftheriadis family, the company turned to shipbuilding in 1975, placing an order for the construction of two tankers at danish shipyards, though the project did not proceed. their long-term strategy to evolve through newlybuilt vessels was realised a decade later, with the delivery of five product carriers in 1986 and 1987 from shipbuilders kanda in japan. foreseeing the upcoming technological changes in the tanker sector, the company proceeded with a radical fleet renewal, investing in the construction of a large number of double-hull and double-bottom newbuildings. this initiative established eletson corporation, among the most modern tanker operators before the end of the 20th century. in the early 21st century, the management of eletson corporation gradually passed to the next generation. after the passing of apostolos hadjieleftheriadis in 2001 and erric kertsikoff in 2004, gregory hadjieleftheriadis and his family withdrew from the group in 2006, leaving john karastamatis as the sole representative of the founding generation. after his death in 2012, company management – which has since expanded its focus to the lpg carrier sector – has been carried out by vasilis a. hadjieleftheriadis, laskarina g. karastamatis, and vasilis e. kertsikoff. HADJIELEFTHERIADIS
1970-1972
tsakos .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }captain panagiotis tsakos, born in kardamyla, chios in 1936, son of seafarer nicolaos tsakos and maria gregos, who also came from a seafaring family. after completing his general education at the livanion high school in kardamyla, he followed a maritime career, sailing on ships owned by nicolaos livanos. he rose to the rank of captain and later served on ships of aegis shipping, owned by nicolas papalios, eventually attaining the position of fleet captain. in 1970, he purchased his first ship, naming her irenes star in honor of his wife, dr. irene saroglou, with whom he had two children, nicos and maria. most of the cargo ships in his group were later named with the prefix “irenes”, honoring the woman and scientist who strongly supported her husband’s multifaceted activities. during the 1970s, the tsakos group grew significantly through a series of acquisitions of cargo ships and tankers. in 1975, he acquired an inactive shipyard in montevideo, uruguay, which he renovated and operated under the name tsakos industrias navales. his professional involvement in uruguay led, in 1978, to the founding of the maria tsakos cultural foundation in montevideo, which has played a pivotal role in fostering ties between greece and uruguay. following a successful course in the 1980s, and with the active involvement of his two children, nicos and maria, the tsakos group was listed on the oslo stock exchange in 1993. from 1997, it decisively turned to shipbuilding, rapidly creating a large fleet of modern tankers. in 2002, tsakos energy navigation (ten) was founded, and its shares began trading on the new york stock exchange. under the leadership of nicos p. tsakos, ten expanded rapidly and has now become a leading global player in energy transportation, with a fleet of over 60 vessels, including lng carriers. most of the ships were built for companies managed by the group, in which the third generation of the family is now actively involved, represented by the founder’s namesake grandson, panagiotis n. tsakos. in addition to his long-standing role in the management of ten, dr. nicos p. tsakos has served as president of helmepa (hellenic marine environment protection association) and of the international organization intertanko. the tsakos group also operates, under the management of its parent company tsakos shipping and trading s.a., an additional fleet of around 100 ships, including tankers, bulk carriers, and containerships. captain panagiotis p. tsakos has consistently demonstrated a strong interest in education. beyond the creation of the new wing at the chios merchant marine engineering academy (aen) in collaboration with george m. pateras, he founded in 2008, in chios, the maria tsakos public benefit foundation – international center for maritime research and tradition, under the direction of his daughter maria, who sadly passed away prematurely in 2010. in her memory, the maria’s home – education and culture campus was founded in kardamyla in 2013, forming an integral part of the maria tsakos foundation. TSAKOS constantakopoulos .fully-justified { text-align: justify; }vassilis constantakopoulos from the village of diavolitsi in messinia, spent his early years in his hometown before relocating to athens at the age of 13 with his family. from a young age, he worked to support the family’s limited income, completing his secondary education at a night school. in 1953, he turned to shipping, initially working without pay in order to establish himself in the industry. a pivotal figure in his life was his wife, carmen a. kyritsis, whom he married in 1964. together they had three sons; constantinos, achilleas, and christos. he stopped sailing in the early 1970s, and in late 1972, he participated in the purchase of a cargo ship. in 1975, with a vision of creating a strong and high-quality shipping group, he founded costamare shipping co., s.a. he steadily developed the company and, in 1985, seizing an opportunity, he invested in containerships, acquiring three ships at auction from the fleet of hellenic lines. focusing exclusively on containerships, he pursued newbuilding projects, taking delivery of three ships in 1996 from a south korean shipyard. he continued investing with determination, taking delivery in 2000 of ten containerships from the hyundai facility, in south korea, all chartered to major operators. among his most trusted partnerships was with china’s cosco, a relationship that played a key role in fostering state-level cooperation between greece and china and paved the way for china’s major investment in the port of piraeus. beyond his maritime activities, captain vassilis envisioned a transformational project for his homeland. in 1982, he began gradually acquiring land, creating the necessary infrastructure to bring to life the iconic costa navarino resort. he lived to see his vision become reality before his death in 2011. shortly after turning 60, he handed over the management of costamare to his eldest son, constantinos, while his second son, achilleas, took charge of the tourism investments, and christos managed his other business ventures. all three of his sons carried on and expanded their father’s legacy, making him particularly proud. beyond his business ventures, captain vassilis was deeply involved in social issues, launching initiatives related to seafaring, hellenism, orthodoxy, ecology, and education. notably, during his presidency of helmepa, he founded helmepa junior, almost entirely financed the convertion of the liberty-type ship, hellas liberty into a floating museum, and carried out numerous public-benefit activities with personal dedication and care. his family’s philanthropic legacy continues today through the captain vassilis & carmen constantakopoulos foundation. CONSTANTAKOPOULOS
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