Athens – 10 July 2023

The Greek Shipping Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony & Dinner 2023 took place on the evening of Wednesday July 5 at Megaron, the Athens Concert Hall with more than 500 guests.  The prestigious annual event honours historic greats of the Greek shipping industry.

At the conclusion of this year’s ceremony, the Eletson Founder-Directors, Apostolos B. Hadjieleftheriadis (1932-2001), John E. Karastamatis (1925-2012) and Erric B. Kertsikoff (1928-2003) and the Rethymnis Brothers, Nikolaos V. Rethymnis (1886-1981) and Minas V. Rethymnis (1892-1977) were inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The Greek Shipping Hall of Fame event supported children’s charity Hellenic Hope with a donation, presented to Andreas Bouras, Chief Executive Officer of Hellenic Hope that works to support at-risk kids in Greece.

Impressive shipping 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.

“The success of our industry is the result of a pioneering, innovative and resilient mindset that blended pragmatism with boldness,” Vassilios Kroustallis, Senior Vice President ABS Global Business Development, told the audience. The entire industry was scanning the horizon to address the challenges of decarbonisation and digitalisation, Mr Kroustallis said, “yet tonight reminds us that maybe there are lessons too in our glorious past… Each of the inductees into the Hall of Fame shared that mindset: a down-to-earth, business-focused approach that was always open to fresh ideas but evaluated everything with a hard-headed, practical eye before deciding to act boldly.”

According to Theofilos Xenakoudis, Chief Commercial Officer, and Managing Director – Piraeus, Greece for IRI/The Marshall Islands Registry, the occasion celebrated “a lifetime of vision.” He said that the Hall of Fame’s Inductees “have led the way, not only through their outstanding achievements, but also through their ability to inspire others to leadership, innovation, and the advancement of our industry. Inspiring others to do better, see things differently, and strive for what once was not possible.”

The audience was also addressed by Zhang Qipeng, Vice President of Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. (SWS), another long-time sponsor of the Greek Shipping Hall of Fame’s annual event. “We express our admiration for the Hall of Fame’s Inductees,” he said. “With more than 140 vessels delivered to Greek owners we are proud of the strong and reliable partnership we have built together. We look forward to continuing our strong co-operation with the Greek shipping community and through our collective efforts to continue creating and contributing to a sustainable shipping industry.”

TMS, one of Greece’s largest shipping groups, continued its tradition of supporting the event as Welcome Drinks Sponsor. Alexandra Economou, daughter of TMS Founder George Economou, told the audience: “Let us not forget that shipping is woven into the fabric of Greece. Hence, those whose accomplishments we recognise tonight have not only shaped our industry but also the history of our country.”

Navios Maritime Partners kindly supported the event by sponsoring the dinner.  After-dinner digestifs providing tastes from the island of Chios were sponsored by The Tsakos Group.

Cayman Registry, Citi Private Bank, Moore Greece, Optima Shipping Services and Seajets supported the event as Premium Sponsors.

Air France & KLM participated as our exclusive airline partners.

The Greek Shipping Hall of Fame also expressed gratitude to Bank Julius Baer for enhancing its support for Hellenic Hope.

Founded by Greeks of the diaspora, Hellenic Hope has been supporting projects that enhance the lives and prospects of at-risk kids in Greece. The Greek Shipping Hall of Fame has been one of the charity’s supporters since 2014.

Andreas Bouras, Hellenic Hope CEO, thanked event sponsors and the wider Greek shipping community for the help provided through the Hall of Fame. He added: “While times are changing, and economic prospects in our country look bright again, we continue to focus on projects that maximise children’s welfare.  The need has not gone away.”

Further kind sponsorship support for the event came from Anglo Eastern Ship Management, Berenberg, Cass Technava, China Classification Society, ClassNK, Franman, Isle of Man Ship Registry, KPMG, Lloyd’s Register, Marichem-Marigases, Marine Tours, Orca AI, PPG and Seascape.

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