GREEK SHIPPING AWARDS 2017: THE WINNERS

Marinakis, Ioannidis, Radziwill and Martinos win awards in front of 1,200 at annual shipping gala

– Maran Tankers, Carras (Hellas), Golden Star Ferries, Aspida and Naftika Chronika among others honoured –

SHIPOWNER Evangelos M. Marinakis was named Greek Shipping Personality of the Year for 2017 and veteran Onassis Group personality Pavlos J. Ioannidis was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award in Athens on Friday, November 24 at the 14th annual Lloyd’s List Greek Shipping Awards.

A record attendance of fully 1,200 Greek and international shipping personalities gathered at the Athenaeum InterContinental Hotel for the 2017 event, organised by Lloyd’s List, the international maritime newspaper established in 1734.

They hailed the brightest performers for 2017, including some of the industry’s best-known personalities and companies, and enjoyed an exciting event programme that reflected increasing interest in digitalisation and its impact on the industry’s future.

ClassNK, a longtime supporter of the event, was once again overall lead sponsor of the Greek Shipping Awards.

Greece’s minister of Shipping and Island Policy, Panagiotis Kouroumblis, opened the ceremonies and presented a donation on behalf of the event organisers to ‘Argo’, the charity supporting children with special needs in the families of Greek seafarers.

Guests enjoyed a pre-dinner cocktail reception hosted by the Malta Ship Registry while China Classification Society offered the traditional champagne toast to the health of Greek shipping.

The annual awards recognise achievement and meritorious activity in the Greek shipping industry as well as promote Greece as a maritime centre. Winners are chosen by an independent panel of judges representing a broad cross-section of the Greek shipping industry.

THE 2017 WINNERS

Evangelos M. Marinakis was voted 2017 Greek Shipping Personality of the Year for a year of big deals in shipping that saw investments of about $1 billion across tankers, container shipping and dry bulk. Judges also highlighted the shipowner’s philanthropic activities.

Lloyd’s List’s Greek Shipping Newsmaker of the Year Award went to John Michael Radziwill, chief executive of new dry bulk company GoodBulk. GoodBulk was launched last December on the Norwegian over-the-counter market and has already built up a fleet of 19 vessels including 17 capes, with options to buy another six. The Award is decided by the editorial staff of Lloyd’s List.

Pavlos J. Ioannidis was awarded the Lloyd’s List / Propeller Club Lifetime Achievement Award for an outstanding career notable for wartime heroism and aviation as well as shipping. A close colleague of Aristotelis Onassis, Mr Ioannidis became CEO of the Onassis Foundation shipping business after Onassis’ death and applied aviation training methods and culture to shipping for the first time – not only for the Olympic fleet but, through his positions on the boards of the Union of Greek Shipowners and Helempa, for the wider benefit of Greek shipping.

Ioannis Martinos won the New Generation Shipping Award, open to personalities of no more than 40 years of age. A mechanical and aerospace engineering graduate from Tufts and MIT, Mr Martinos established his own company, Signal Maritime, in 2014 and has not shied away from testing new ideas. Signal has become an innovative leader in using and developing new data tools for the industry, including a revolutionary new app for navigating the tanker spot market.

Capt. Fu Chengqiu was elected International Personality of the Year, the only award open exclusively to non-Greeks. Capt. Fu, who started his career with COSCO 40 years ago as a 3rd officer on a vessel, has been managing director of the Piraeus Port Authority since 2016 when COSCO acquired majority ownership of the port. Prior to that he was in charge of Piraeus Container Terminal.

The recipient of the Dry Cargo Company of the Year Award for 2017 was Carras (Hellas), one of Greece’s oldest-established shipping companies.  Long associated with shipping legend John M. Carras who led the company from the 1930s until he passed away, Carras (Hellas) has renewed its fleet with seven high-quality eco-newbuilding bulkers since 2016. The judges cited the company as embodying Greek shipping’s finest traditions.

As Tanker Company of the Year the panel chose one of the industry’s largest names – Maran Tankers Management, the tanker arm of the Angelicoussis Shipping Group. During 2017, Maran ordered seven VLCCs bringing the number on order to 11 on top of 39 tankers on the water. It also sealed a number of important charters with oil companies, including seven to be employed long-term by Chevron.

The judges chose Golden Star Ferries as Passenger Line of the Year for its commitment to its service between Rafina and the Cyclades islands at a difficult time for coastal services, and its expansion with the purchase of two more vessels, including the luxurious conversion of ‘Superferry’ in 2016 and its first high-speed ferry ‘Superrunner’ earlier this year.

Masters Shipping won the Shipbroker of the Year Award. Masters recently celebrated its 50th year. It was the first company worldwide to declare itself a specialist passenger ship broker. Over its history it has been instrumental in more than 1,000 deals and has provided crucial support to the nation’s cruise and ferry lines. The company is still going strong with an impressive roster of new transactions in the last two years.

The Shipping Financier of the Year Award went to Christina Margelou. As head of shipping for Eurobank, Ms Margelou has led the bank to become an active lender with a current portfolio of about $1.4 billion. But she and her team are taking a traditional relationship approach and Ms Marelou emphasises that the bank likes to be selective and keep things simple.

Leading marine coatings developer NanoPhos Marine was awarded the Technical Achievement Award. Exploiting the advantages of nanotechnology, the Lavrion-based company has introduced a pioneering range of efficient, environmentally-friendly and cost-effective coatings for ships.

Naftika Chronika was recipient of this year’s prestigious Piraeus International Centre Award. The leading Greek shipping publication, established in 1931, has been a constant, trusted reference point for the industry and generously circulates copies free to universities and marine academies each month. Judges also praised the publishers’ new initiative, isalos.net, a platform launched to promote wider knowledge and understanding of the shipping sector.

Panos Zachariadis, technical director of Atlantic Bulk Carriers, won the Award for Safety or Environmental Protection. He has been part of the Greek delegation to IMO since 2004 and has left a wide imprint on the industry, providing influential input in many of the major global ship safety and efficiency debates ever since.

The Seafarer of the Year Award was won by Captain Iakovos Papageorgiou Daniil. Capt. Daniil, a Master of 15 years’ experience, rescued a shipwrecked crew of eight in the Indian Ocean in June 2016 when in command of the Diana Containerships-owned vessel ‘Hamburg’ en route to Singapore. Capt Daniil diverted his vessel and successfully found the men’s life-raft 300 miles off the coast of Oman in a region where merchant ships are at risk from pirates.

The Maria Tsakos TCM Training Centre was winner of the 2017 Education or Training Award. It has offered more than 800 courses with more than 4,000 attendees since being established four years ago. The centre was singled out by judges for an innovative curriculum and high-quality instructors and equipment.

The Ship of the Year Award went to the ‘Georgios Averof’, the Hellenic Navy’s most historic ship and the oldest operational steel warship in the world.

The Lloyd’s List Intelligence Big Data Award was presented to Aspida which impressed the Lloyd’s List Intelligence assessment panel with its Vessel Security Information and Event Management (VSIEM) platform. VSIEM has been developed to provide a variety of benefits to enhance maritime cyber security.

The Awards are supported by prominent bodies in Greek shipping, including the Union of Greek Shipowners, the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping and the Greek Shipping Co-operation Committee. Supporting organisations also include The Hellenic Shortsea Shipowners Association, the Hellenic Marine Environment Protection Association – Helmepa, the Hellenic Shipbrokers’ Association, the Association of Greek Passenger Shipping Companies, the Propeller Club, International Port of Piraeus, WISTA Hellas, the Association of Banking & Financial Executives of Hellenic Shipping, and the Piraeus Association for Maritime Arbitration.

Lloyd’s List Greek Shipping Awards 2017

WINNERS AT-A-GLANCE

Dry Cargo Company of the Year

Carras (Hellas)

Tanker Company of the Year

Maran Tankers Management

Passenger Line of the Year

Golden Star Ferries

Shipbroker of the Year

Masters Shipping

Shipping Financier of the Year

Christina Margelou

Technical Achievement Award

NanoPhos Marine

Achievement in Safety or Environmental Protection

Panos Zachariadis

Piraeus International Centre Award

Naftika Chronika

International Personality of the Year

Captain Fu Chengqiu

Seafarer of the Year

Capt. Iakovos Daniil

Achievement in Education or Training

Maria Tsakos TCM Training Centre

Ship of the Year

 “Georgios Averof”

Next Generation Shipping Award

Ioannis Martinos

Lloyd’s List Intelligence Big Data Award

Aspida

Lloyd’s List/Propeller Club Lifetime Achievement Award

Pavlos J. Ioannidis

Greek Shipping Newsmaker of the Year

John Michael Radziwill

Greek Shipping Personality of the Year

Evangelos M. Marinakis

The 2017 Winners.

 

 

Aristides Dalakas regional manager of East Mediterranean and Northern Black Sea for Event Sponsor ClassNK, opened the event with a few words to the international audience.

The Honourable Dr. Iain Borg, Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects, addressed guests at the Welcome Reception sponsored by Malta Ship Registry.

The Minister of Shipping & Island Policy, Panagiotis Kouroumblis, greeted the audience with a brief Welcome Address.

Jiping Chen of China Classification Society made the Champagne Toast to the health of the Greek shipping industry.

Tatiana Vourecas-Petalas accepting the Dry Cargo Company of the Year Award for Carras (Hellas) S.A. from Matthew More of sponsor Marichem Marigases. Carras (Hellas) can trace its origins to the end of the 19th century and is one of the oldest established shipping concerns in Greece. Its history was dominated by the legendary John M. Carras who led the company from the 1930s until he passed away. His successors continue the family tradition today. The panel enthusiastically embraced the chance to recognise a company that honours Greek shipping’s finest traditions while renewing its fleet with seven high-quality eco-newbuilding bulkers since 2016.

Paillette Palaiologou of sponsor Bureau Veritas presenting the Tanker Company of the Year Award to Dr. Maria Angelicoussis for Maran Tankers Management. Maran Tankers as most people know is the tanker arm of the Angelicoussis Shipping Group. The panel could not ignore the company’s impressive investment and commercial activities during the last year. Maran ordered seven VLCCs at Daewoo earlier in 2017, bringing the number on order to 11 on top of an existing fleet of 39 tankers on the water. Seven of the new VLCCs go on long term bareboat charter to Chevron, while another three new VLCCs were longterm chartered this year to another oil major. While this proves the owner’s exceptional commercial clout, nominations also praised Maran for its training and environmental initiatives.

Raffaele Palumbo of sponsor Palumbo Shipyards (centre) presenting the Passenger Line of the Year Award to George Stefanou and Dimitris Stefanou of Golden Star Ferries. Golden Star Ferries launched its service on the Rafina-Andros-Tinos-Mykonos route in 2011, at a difficult time for Greece’s coastal ferry business. But in the last six years it has proved its quality and commitment as a company. Our judges noted that in the last two years Golden Star has gone to another level and become a leading provider of transportation to and from the Cyclades islands, always from the port of Rafina. It has expanded its fleet to three vessels with the acquisition and luxurious conversion of ‘Superferry’ in 2016 and, this year, the purchase of ‘Superrunner’, its first high-speed ferry.

Dennis Vernardakis of Masters’ Shipping (centre) accepting the Shipbroker of the Year Award from Capt. Panagiotis Tsakos and Panagiotis Tsakos Junior of sponsor The Tsakos Group. Masters Shipping recently celebrated its 50th year. It was the first company worldwide to declare itself a specialist passenger ship broker. Early on, it primarily catered for the needs of Epirotiki Lines, selling, purchasing and chartering cruise ships. Later it entered the fledgling Greek ferry market. Over its history, Masters has been instrumental in more than 1,000 deals including many landmark.

Despina Panayiotou-Theodosiou of sponsor Tototheo Maritime presenting the Shipping Financier of the Year Award to Christina Margelou of Eurobank. As head of shipping for Eurobank, Christina Margelou has been the key manager in making the bank a significant and growing player in the financing of Greek owners. Keeping it simple, but looking for longer term relationships, Eurobank this year has grown its portfolio to $1.4 billion and Ms Margelou and her team are active today looking at all classes of shipowner – from the leading names to small and medium-sized owners they consider the backbone of the industry.

Dr. Ioannis Arabatzis founder & managing director of NanoPhos Marine accepting the Technical Achievement Award from Ioannis Chiotopoulos of sponsor DNV GL. Lavrion-based NanoPhos Marine is awarded as a market-leading developer of marine coatings. Exploiting the unique advantages of nanotechnology, the company has introduced a pioneering range of efficient, environmentally friendly and cost-effective coating solutions for ships – and is at work to develop even more advanced products. This year the company also joined the Green Award scheme to encourage ‘green’ shipping companies.

Theododios Stamatellos of sponsor Lloyd’s Register presenting the Award for Achievement in Safety or Environmental Protection to Panos Zachariadis. Panos Zachariadis is Technical Director of Atlantic Bulk Carriers, but he has left a wide imprint on the industry. He has attended IMO sessions and conferences since 2004 as a member of the Greek delegation. He is credited with an extensive contribution to the IMO’s Goal-Based Standards that review and approve classification Common Rules with the intention of more robust and safer ships. He was instrumental in the study that reversed the move to mandatory double hulls for bulk carriers. Currently he is involved in the new IMO environmental regulations. Together with major shipyards he has applied numerous energy saving ideas, some of which have become industry standards.

Dr. Ilias Bissias of Naftika Chronika accepting the Piraeus International Centre Award from John Laderos of sponsor SRH Marine Group. Naftika Chronika has been the leading Greek shipping publication and a constant, trusted and influential point of reference for the industry since 1931. Each month more than 1,000 copies are distributed free to universities and merchant marine academies throughout Greece. This history by itself would have made it a worthy candidate for this Award. But judges also praised the publishers’ new initiatives and, in particular, Isalos.net. The platform, launched just last year, has already made a great impact, promoting wider knowledge and understanding of the shipping sector.

Capt. Fu Chengqiu accepting the International Personality of the Year Award from Gerry Ventouris of sponsor Capital Ship Management Corporation. Captain Fu Cheng Qiu was appointed Managing Director of Piraeus Port Authority on August 11th, 2016 after COSCO acquired majority ownership of the governing body of Greece’s top port. As Managing Director of Piraeus Container Terminal (PCT) from 2010, Captain Fu has played a key role in turning Piraeus into one of the fastest-growing container terminals in the world, and an efficient one too, with traffic increased by 12\% in 2016. He is at the helm of a landmark foreign investment in Greece that promises to be one of the keys to economic recovery. Captain Fu joined COSCO in 1976 as a 3rd Officer in a COSCO vessel. In 1983 he became Captain of a COSCO vessel and rose to several top executive positions in the group before coming to Piraeus.

George Tsavliris of sponsor Tsavliris Salvage Group presenting the Seafarer of the Year Award to Capt. Iakovos Daniil of “Hamburg”. Captain Daniil has been a qualified Ship’s Master for 15 years – the last 5 of these serving with Unitized Ocean Transport, the ship manager for Diana Containerships. On June 5th, 2017, he was in command of the 6,500 TEU containership ‘Hamburg’ en route from Suez to Singapore when a call was received from UKMTO Dubai, the primary contact point for vessels for safety and security issues in the Indian Ocean. A small passenger vessel had sunk 300 miles off the coast of Oman, leaving eight crew members adrift in a liferaft. This is an area at high risk of pirate attacks. After checks with UKMTO to verify that the distress call was genuine, Captain Daniil diverted to search for the survivors. Despite the evening darkness, the liferaft was soon located and the eight rescued, cared for aboard the ‘Hamburg’ and successfully disembarked in Singapore.

Capt. Michail Dimakareas of the Maria Tsakos Training Centre accepting the Award for Achievement in Education or Training from Jorge Barakat Pitty, Minister of Maritime Affairs, Panama Maritime Authority. Since establishment 4 years ago, the Maria Tsakos TCM Training Centre has offered more than 800 courses with more than 4,000 attendees from seagoing and shore personnel. The centre’s educational excellence stems from experienced instructors, state of the art simulators and an expanding and innovative curriculum going well beyond conventional simulation training courses. In June 2017 the centre was accredited as an approved Dynamic Positioning training centre, the only one in Europe accredited for the full array of DP courses.

Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff, Vice Admiral Nikolaos Tsounis HN accepting the Ship of the Year Award for “Georgios Averof” from Taner Umac of sponsor RightShip. The judging panel used its power and wisdom to depart from the normal brief for ‘Ship of the Year’. Georgios Averof, built in 1910, is the Hellenic Navy’s most historic ship and the oldest operational steel warship in the world. She ruled the North Eastern Aegean during the first Balkan War, keeping the Ottoman Navy out of the Aegean. The vessel’s success helped to liberate Mount Athos and islands such as Chios, Mytilini, Limnos and others. After strategic roles in the First World War, the Smyrna Campaign and World War 2, it has been a floating museum in Palaio Faliro and the cornerstone of the country’s long planned maritime park. This year has been a notable one in her long history. She underwent two months of maintenance and repairs in Skaramanga Shipyard and visited Thessaloniki for the first time since WW2 to take part in October 28 national day celebrations.

Ioannis Martinos accepting the Next Generation Shipping Award from Theofilos Xenakoudis of sponsor IRI/The Marshall Islands Registry Ioannis Martinos was a diligent student, graduating with mechanical and aerospace engineering degrees from Tufts and MIT. He was co-chief executive with brother Nikolas at family shipping company Thenamaris before establishing his own company in 2014 to put his own ideas about running a modern shipping business to the test. As one nomination put it, his company – Signal Maritime – “combines the energy of a startup with resources of a seasoned industry player.” It has become an innovative leader in using and developing new data tools for trading more competitively, including a revolutionary new app for navigating the tanker spot market.

Panos Moraitis of Aspida accepting the Lloyd’s List Intelligence Big Data Award from the Chief of Hellenic Defence General Staff, Admiral Evangelos Apostolakis HN. Aspida impressed the LLI evaluation panel with their VSIEM (Vessel Security Information and Event Management) platform, designed to harness diverse, remote information in the cause of enhancing maritime cyber security. To provide a coherent security overview, VSIEM overcomes sporadic satellite links to secure information, ingested from a wide variety of communication and control systems installed across multiple vessels. LLI praised Aspida’s VSIEM for delivering a wide range of proven benefits – from ongoing threat detection to advice on how to strengthen security and a platform for training and real-time crisis support.

Pavlos J. Ioannidis receiving the Lloyd’s List/Propeller Club Lifetime Achievement Award from Marios Demetriades, Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, Republic of Cyprus. Resistance fighter, pilot, shipmanager, author, lifetime member of the Onassis Foundation, Paul Ioannidis says in his book that he would not have believed a fictional character could realistically pack so much into a lifetime. A close colleague of Aristotelis Onassis, Mr Ioannidis was general manager of Olympic Airways and trained a whole generation of pilots before he became CEO of the Onassis Foundation shipping business after Onassis’ death. His main, lasting contribution to Greek shipping was applying aviation training methods and culture to shipping for the first time – not only for the Olympic fleet but sharing this with the Union of Greek Shipowners and Helmepa, both of which he served as director. He is a lifelong member of ABS and has received a number of awards, some of which he has not handed back.

Ian White of sponsor ExxonMobil presenting the Greek Shipping Newsmaker of the Year Award to Carlos Pena, accepting on behalf of John Michael Radziwill. The Newsmaker of the Year Award is decided by Lloyd’s List, not by the panel of judges…. John Michael Radziwill was Lloyd’s List’s clear choice as Newsmaker of the Year for launching his new company GoodBulk on the Norwegian over-the-counter market last December and for its subsequent expansion. The company is already up to 19 vessels including 17 capes. The latest of these are seven capesizes acquired from CarVal Investors and GoodBulk has options to buy another six. Mr Radziwill, a grandson of John M. Carras, has also emerged as a key player in dry bulk pools via CTM Monaco.

Konstantinos Vasiliou of sponsor Eurobank presenting the Greek Shipping Personality of the Year Award to Evangelos M. Marinakis Judges mentioned Mr Marinakis’ philanthropy, including children’s causes, Greek culture and humanitarian assistance to refugees. It has also been a year of big deals ashore. But Mr Marinakis wins on purely shipping merit. In the last 10 months his Capital group has invested about $1 billion across the tanker, container and dry bulk sectors. Highlights include acquisition of 5 ex-Hanjin Containerships, 5 modern capesize bulkers, and ordering of up to 8 VLCC Eco newbuildings. In addition Capital has chartered-in four VLCCs on two year time charters. Mr Marinakis continues to be a dynamic deal-maker in the industry and is supportive of Nasdaq-listed Capital Product Tankers, underlining his overwhelming case for being Greek Shipping’s Personality of 2017.

Co-hosts for the 2017 Greek Shipping Awards were Andriana Paraskevopoulou and Nigel Lowry.

The 17 trophies awaiting the winners of the 2017 Greek Shipping Awards.

The Greek Shipping Award trophy