ATHENS – The President and immediate past President of the Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS) were both recognized as the 2022 Lloyd’s List Greek Shipping Awards were presented before an audience of over 1,000 guests at the InterContinental Athenaeum December 2 in Athens.

The annual awards recognize noteworthy achievements in the Greek shipping sector, promote Greece as a maritime center, and help fundraise for charities – this year supporting Argo, an organization assisting children with disabilities in the families of Greek seafarers.

In a welcome address, Minister of Shipping & Island Policy Ioannis Plakiotakis offered congratulations to nominees and winners of the 2022 Awards.

Melina Travlos, who earlier this year was elected the first female President of the UGS, was named Greek Shipping Personality of the Year. Travlos was revealed as winner of the Award just minutes after the Lloyd’s List/Propeller Club Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to her predecessor, Theodore Veniamis, who had led the country’s ship owning community for 13 years before stepping down this year.

The Seafarer of the Year Award was bestowed upon Captain Kimon Christodoulou, Master of the Sun Enterprises tanker Christina, in recognition of a rescue of 27 refugees from a small boat in the Aegean in August 2022.

Dry Cargo Company of the Year was Ionic Bulk Carriers, managing a modern fleet of bulk carriers, while Andriaki Shipping, established in 1953, was awarded as Tanker Company of the Year.

The Ship of the Year Award went to Aero 1, 2, 3, Attica Group’s newly-built catamarans serving the Saronic Gulf. Project Connect, which operates the Adopt-A-Ship program in Greek schools, was named winner of the 2022 Education/Training Award.

Other awards included the Newsmaker of the Year Award to shipowner Harry Vafias, for newsworthy activities including the launch of a second Nasdaq-listed shipping company, Imperial Petroleum. The Lloyd’s List Intelligence Big Data Award was presented to HiLo Maritime Risk Management, whose services help improve safety for seafarers.

The Next Generation Shipping Award went to Antonis Malaxianakis, founder and Chief Executive of Harbor Lab, a tech start-up providing innovative software that focuses on port costs for vessels.

Dorothea Ioannou of the American P&I Club was selected as International Personality of the Year after becoming the first woman to lead an International Group club in the 167 years since its inauguration.

Guests enjoyed a pre-dinner drinks reception hosted by Erma First while the China Classification Society offered the traditional champagne toast to the health of Greek shipping.

IGMS, the world’s largest buyer of ships and offshore assets for recycling, was overall lead sponsor of the Greek Shipping Awards.

Winners of the annual Greek Shipping Awards are selected by an independent panel of judges representing a broad cross-section of the Greek shipping industry. The 2022 event was co-hosted by award-winning ERT broadcaster Andriana Paraskevopoulou together with Lloyd’s List correspondent in Greece Nigel Lowry.

Lloyd’s List Greek Shipping Awards 2022 Winners at-a-glance:

Dry Cargo Company of the Year, Ionic Bulk Carriers; Tanker Company of the Year, Andriaki Shipping; Passenger Line of the Year, Levante Ferries; Shipbroker of the Year,
BRS Group Athens; Shipping Financier of the Year, Athens Stock Exchange; Technical Achievement Award, Dr. Chris Leontopoulos; The Safety Award, Load Line Marine; The Sustainability Award, Polygreen; Piraeus International Centre Award, Technava; International Personality of the Year, Dorothea Ioannou; Seafarer of the Year, Capt. Kimon Christodoulou; Achievement in Education or Training, Project Connect – Adopt-A-Ship; Ship of the Year, ‘Aero 1, 2, 3’; Next Generation Shipping Award, Antonis Malaxianakis; Lloyd’s List Intelligence Big Data Award, HiLo; Lloyd’s List/Propeller Club Lifetime Achievement Award, Theodore E. Veniamis; Greek Shipping Newsmaker of the Year, Harry Vafias; Greek Shipping Personality of the Year, Melina Travlos.