Lloyd’s List: 14 Greek Shipowners, Executives in this year’s top ‘One Hundred People’

Fourteen Greek shipowners and top executives are included in this year’s “One Hundred People”, the annual ranking by Lloyd’s List of the shipping industry’s most influential players.

The 2023 ranking, the 14th edition of Lloyd’s List’s annual assessment of influence in the industry, again places Greek shipping leaders high in the list, with the significant rise of Evangelos Marinakis, moreover, by 19 spots to land in 22nd place, standing out.

The IMO, and specifically what Lloyd’s List calls the “power brokers” able to influence its policies, i.e. China, Brazil, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Marshall Islands, Germany and Denmark, ranks first on the 2023 list.

Lloyd’s estimates that “a handful of the organisation’s 175 member states are the ones essentially holding the key to agreeing the most important parts of the industry’s decarbonisation trajectory.”

Vincent Clerc and Robert Uggla, of AP Moller-Maersk and AP Moller Holding, are in second place.

The Aponte family, whose members control the Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC), is in third place, while Wan Min and Miao Jianmin, of China Cosco Shipping and China Merchants Group, are in fourth place.

The top five spots are rounded out by a trio of EU Commission office-holders, namely, Magda Kopczynska, Fotini Ioannidou and Frans Timmermans.

The first Greek presence on the “One Hundred People” list is Maria Angelicoussis, in 12th place, down from 10th last year. She has headed the Angelicoussis Group for the past two years, after the death of her father, John. According to Lloyd’s List, “she has already emerged as a strong leader in terms of preserving both the group’s scale and reputation as it steers towards a decarbonised future.”

George Prokopiou is in 19th place, four spots lower than in 2022, as he has “placed orders for a total of 66 new vessels, sprawling across the three sectors to which he has been faithful for a good many years:

LNG carriers, tankers and dry bulk carriers.”

Lloyd’s List refers to a “…Shipowner (who) has restocked for the future, with more than 60 newbuildings spread across the liquefied natural gas carrier, tanker and dry bulk sectors.”

Angeliki Frangou is in 21st place on the list, falling two spots from 2022. Lloyd’s List refers to a “diversified shipowner” with significant investments in the logistics business.

The British journal adds that since purchasing Navios in 2005, Angeliki Frangou has “been part of the conversation when considering the world’s leading shipping entrepreneurs.”

A significant rise in the rankings for Evangelos Marinakis

Evangelos Marinakis is in 22nd place on this list, recording the biggest rise in the standings by a Greek shipowner, up by 19 spots from last year.

According to the UK-based Lloyd’s List, he is the “first Greek to order very large ammonia carriers and CO2 carriers.”

“Yet even by his standards, 2023 has felt like a year in which he put down a clear marker as one of the industry’s movers and shakers,” the journal writes.

Lloyd’s List cites the Greek shipowner’s efforts to amass a “trailblazing” fleet to differentiate the group, as the green transition of the industry “begins to bite”.

“Altogether, over the past three to four years, the owner has invested in close to 60 newbuildings of various types that have a common cause in offering much-reduced carbon emissions,” the shipping publication adds.

At the same time, Lloyd’s List cites Marinakis’ impressive deal-making power, following the unveiling of a plan whereby Nasdaq-listed Capital Product Partners is transformed into a pure-play shipping entity through $3.1 billion worth of LNG carrier acquisitions and its renaming to Capital New Energy Carriers.

Melina Travlos, the president of the Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS) is in 25th place, representing the world’s largest shipowning nation.

Lloyd’s List notes that since assuming the UGS helm in 2022, Travlos has tireless worked to showcase the role played by Greek shipping, both at the European and national level.

“As the UGS, our mission is to safeguard the future not only of Greek shipping but also of European shipping,” she said recently.

The next Greek shipowner is George Economou, at 33rd place, down from 31st last year.

This “Greek owner shows no sign of losing his appetite for placing big shipping bets, nor his ability to attract controversy,” is the Lloyd’s List description.

Kostis Konstantakopoulos, of Costamare, is in 37th place, described as “Container specialist continues to think outside the box.”

Peter G. Livanos, of GasLog and DryLog, is in 41st place. “Blue-chip shipowner has a focus increasingly on liquefied natural gas and green transition shipping, while keeping an active hand in the dry bulk sector,” Lloyd’s notes.

Petros Pappas, of Star Bulk, is in 42nd place, with the descripting reading: “Leading dry bulk player has a clear commitment to sustainability.”

George Logothetis, of Libra Group, is in 62nd place, a shipowner “focused on aerospace, maritime and beyond,” as he’s called.

Nikolas Tsakos, of Tsakos Energy Navigation, is in 73rd place, having “built his tanker and liquefied natural gas carrier unit into a sturdy vehicle for serving blue-chip charterers.”

Semiramis Paliou, of Diana Shipping, is in 75^th place, with the accompanying text of: “Emerging leader is unafraid to put her own stamp on organisations with a proud legacy, whether that be the bulker owner or the environmental body.”

Elpi Petraki is in 77^th place. She is the president of WISTA International, an organization committed to promoting the greater representation of women in the shipping industry.

Finally, Dorothea Ioannou, American P&I Club, is in 91st place. She is a New York attorney and the first woman to head the International Group P&I club.