Varvitsiotis, 44, is a lawyer and has been parliament since 2000 following in the footsteps of his father, John. Varvitsiotis served as shadow shipping minister in 2001-4, when his conservative New Democracy party was in opposition and has long been a commentator on shipping issues.
The government overhaul had been expected as the country was plunged into from a 10-day political crisis after Samaras closed the state-run broadcasting service, which led to the withdrawal of a junior party from the tripartite ruling coalition.
This left the new government with a majority of just three seats in the 300-seat parliament.
Mousouroulis had angered seafarers’ unions with changes in employment terms which passed parliament in April.
Varvitsiotis' has the immediate task of reversing the decline of the Greek flag, implementing the unpopular seafarer employment terms and reviving the country's struggling ro-pax sector.
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