Many of the past greats of the Greek shipping industry were saluted at the Greek Shipping Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony & Dinner 2018, attended by about 630 guests included numerous leading personalities from today’s maritime community.
The gala dinner event concluded with the announcement of the Inductees for 2017 – Aleco N. Goulandris and Basil M. Mavroleon – who were remembered through interviews with family and warmly lauded for their contributions and achievements at the prestigious event held at the Megaron, the Athens Concert Hall.
Annually the Inductees are decided through voting by the members of the Greek Shipping Hall of Fame Academy. The event also included tributes to the 26 other Inductees of the Hall of Fame. The new Inductees for 2017 marked the 10th anniversary of Inductions into the Greek Shipping Hall of Fame which began with the Inductees for 2007, the year that the Hall of Fame was born.
Highlights of the event included the appearance of internationally-renowned classical crossover singing star Mario Frangoulis who presented a donation out of the proceeds of the event to Hellenic Hope, a charity that raises funds to support carefully-selected projects in Greece that help children in need, focusing on children at risk from the nation’s ongoing economic hardships.
Before presenting the cheque to Tina Mavraki, one of Hellenic Hope’s founders and trustees, Mario Frangoulis congratulated the shipping community for its generosity and emphasised the need for continuing support as hundreds of thousands of Greek kids currently live below the official poverty line.
The keynote after-dinner speech was given by Spyros M. Polemis. Among numerous important positions held by Dr Polemis during his career, between 2006 and 2012 he was chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping, the first time a Greek had headed the world’s principal shipping industry organisation, representing more than 80% of all merchant shipping capacity. Dr Polemis gave a compelling speech, drawing parallels between modern Greek shipping and the maritime exploits of Athens about 2,500 years ago. “The Greeks, more than any other people in the world, have remained mariners without interruption throughout history,” he noted.
Impressive industry support for the event was led by ABS, IRI / The Marshall Islands Registry and Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. the three Co-Lead Sponsors of the Induction Ceremony & Dinner 2018.
Vassilios Kroustallis, Senior Regional Vice President, ABS, said: " The people we are celebrating tonight exemplify leadership and embody the pioneering spirit that has defined the maritime industry for centuries. We are doing our best to live up to their legacy."
According to Theo Xenakoudis, Director, Worldwide Business Operations and Managing Director, Piraeus, Greece for International Registries Inc., “Greece is a maritime nation by more than just tradition, it is a maritime nation built on the passion and commitment of its people. With a legacy of seafaring that goes back thousands of years, Greece continues to be a driving force in the modern maritime industry.”
Wang Qi, Chairman of Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., emphasised the strong ties between Greek shipowners and shipbuilding in China. “It has become a tradition for SWS to visit Greece to meet our Hellenic friends and join you in paying tribute to personalities who have made an outstanding contribution to Greek and global shipping,” he said.
TMS, which has become one of Greece’s largest shipping groups since it was established in 1986, sponsored the welcome drinks party for the event and TMS general manager George Kourelis welcomed guests on behalf of founder George Economou.
Navios Group of Companies was the event’s Dinner Sponsor and Navios Chairman and Chief Executive Angeliki Frangou addressed the audience to emphasise the importance of not losing the opportunity to invest in shipping during the down-cycle and also the importance of investing in human capital for Greek shipping.
American Hellenic Hull Insurance Company, Bureau Veritas, Citi Private Bank, Moore Stephens and Thomas Miller supported the event as Premium Sponsors.
Other Sponsors were China Classification Society, Clarksons Platou, ClassNK, DNV-GL, Hellenic War Risks, HSBC, Marine Tours, National Bank of Greece, OSM Maritime Group, UK Defence Club and UK P&I. The Ecali Club supported the Hall of Fame’s Athens 2018 event as exclusive Lifestyle Partner.
Bank Julius Baer enhanced the Greek Shipping Hall of Fame’s support for Hellenic Hope in 2018.
Greek Shipping Hall of Fame inducts Aleco N. Goulandris and Basil M. Mavroleon
Aleco N. Goulandris (1927-2017)
Aleco Goulandris, who passed away last year, was the last surviving of the founders of the N.J. Goulandris group, as well as a noted art collector and philanthropist.
Together with his twin Leonidas (1927-2009) and older brother (and Greek Shipping Hall of Fame Inductee) John N. Goulandris (1923-2011), Aleco established N. J. Goulandris Ltd in 1953 as a spin-off from the existing Goulandris family shipping business begun in the 19th century.
The new company was named after their father Nicholas and quickly became a leader in post-World War Two Greek shipping. It was among the first international shipowners to turn to Japanese shipyards and established a high-quality fleet of oil tankers. But it also had a continuing interest in dry cargo ships and was the first Greek shipowner with newly-built bulk carriers, thanks to two vessels delivered in 1956.
Aleco Goulandris was highly supportive to his home island of Andros, but was also a national benefactor. Unknown to most Greeks, he quietly sponsored many concerts at the Athens Concert Hall. Other causes he funded in recent years included assembling a new legal case for returning the Parthenon Sculptures from the British Museum, and an ambitious renovation of the historic steel battleship Georgios Averof.
Basil M. Mavroleon (1900-1978)
BASIL Manuel Mavroleon gained his early experience in shipping at Rethymnis & Kulukundis, the pivotal company for Greek shipping interests in London prior to the Second World War. He soon became one of the leading lights of R&K as well as a leading shipbroker active at the Baltic Exchange.
After the war, he established the Mavroleon Brothers shipping firm and launched London & Overseas Freighters, which was co-owned with the Kulukundis family. His many claims to fame including leading LOF to a listing on the London Stock Exchange in 1951, more than 30 years before any other Greek shipping company was publicly traded.
LOF later acquired the Sunderland shipbuilder Austin & Pickersgill and Mavroleon conceived the idea to build an economic dry cargo replacement for the aging fleet of wartime Liberty ships.
He personally inspired the design of the new 14,000 dwt dry cargo ships known as ‘SD 14s’, many of which were built at A&P. In all 211 SD 14s were built in the UK and under licence in Brazil, Argentina and Greece, including 27 at Hellenic Shipyards, making it the most popular of the various Liberty replacements. Buyers included many Greek owners.
The Inductees for 2017 will shortly be featured with full biographies and other media in the Greek Shipping Hall of Fame, which resides at www.greekshippinghalloffame.org
An independent organisation established to bring the fascinating story of Greek shipping to a wider public, the Greek Shipping Hall of Fame has been paying tribute to leading personalities from Greece’s past shipping history since 2007.
With the addition of Aleco N. Goulandris and Basil M. Mavroleon, the Hall of Fame now includes 28 outstanding personalities of the shipping world.