ATHENS – Some 700 Greek and international shipping personalities gathered at the Athenaeum InterContinental hotel December 3 for this year’s Greek Shipping Awards. A sold-out event, seats to this year’s Greek Shipping Awards were limited as one of numerous precautions taken by the organizers with public health and safety in mind.
Costamare Chairman and CEO Konstantinos V. Konstantakopoulos was named Greek Shipping Personality of the Year for 2021, the Lloyd’s List Greek Shipping Awards making a return as an in-person dinner event after the 2020 Awards were held virtually.

Nicholas H. Vafias was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for a highly successful career in shipping that began nearly 50 years ago, while other major individual awards went to shipowners Gianluigi Aponte and Aristides Pittas, and to Amalia Miliou-Theochoraki. Among companies honored for their achievements were Seanergy Maritime, Arcadia Shipmanagement, Alpha Lines, Hellaschart and National Bank of Greece.

“I applaud young shipping enthusiasts, and in particular women,” Next Generation Shipping Award recipient Amalia Miliou-Theocharaki said. “I encourage them to keep on fighting for the shipping industry…with hard work, vision, and a bit of luck, anything is possible.”

The Seafarer of the Year Award was given to Captain Michail Makris, Master of the Seajets catamaran Sea Jet 2, for rescuing 18 passengers from the Aegean Sea after their yacht sank in August 2021.

“I urge all those who have experienced a similar situation to go out there like nothing happened,” Makris said. “We travel again in the seas … we are not afraid. We love and respect the sea,” he said.

The Ship of the Year Award went to Transgas Power,  the first ever floating storage and regasification unit built in China, while the Lloyd’s List Intelligence Big Data Award was presented to Seafair.

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

“Recognizing values such as quality, entrepreneurship, innovation, [the Awards] promote Greece, the largest shipping power in the world, and establish it as the pre-eminent international shipping centre,” Plakiotakis said.

Organized by Lloyd’s List, the international maritime information provider that was established as a newspaper in 1734, this year’s Greek Shipping Awards struck a balance between celebration of the industry’s achievements and reflection on the pain and challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Another theme of the evening that demanded reflection was the necessity of addressing the climate crisis – another huge issue in which the shipping industry is aligned in its concern with the wider world.

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

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

Hellenic Chamber of Shipping chairman George D. Pateras kindly presented a donation on behalf of the event organizers to Argo, the charity supporting children with disabilities in the families of Greek seafarers.

The annual Greek Shipping Awards recognize achievement and meritorious activity in the Greek shipping industry and promote Greece as a maritime center. Winners are chosen by an independent panel of judges representing a broad cross-section of the Greek shipping industry.

The 2021 Greek Shipping Awards 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 2021 Winners:

Dry Cargo Company of the Year

Seanergy Maritime

Tanker Company of the Year

Arcadia Shipmanagement

Passenger Line of the Year

Alpha Lines

Shipbroker of the Year

Hellaschart Ltd

Shipping Financier of the Year

National Bank of Greece

Technical Achievement Award

Panos Zachariadis

The Safety Award

Capital Ship Management

The Sustainability Award

Helmepa

Piraeus International Centre Award

Franman

International Personality of the Year

Gianluigi Aponte

Seafarer of the Year

Capt. Michail Makris

Achievement in Education or Training

Isalos.net

Ship of the Year

“Transgas Power”

Next Generation Shipping Award

Amalia Miliou-Theocharaki

Lloyd’s List Intelligence Big Data Award

Seafair

Lloyd’s List/Propeller Club Lifetime Achievement Award

Nicholas H. Vafias

Greek Shipping Newsmaker of the Year

Aristides J. Pittas

Greek Shipping Personality of the Year

Konstantinos V. Konstantakopoulos