George Procopiou was named Greek Shipping Personality of the Year

Procopou’s achievements were rewarded along with a special 20-years Achievement Award recognising the extraordinary growth of the Greek LNG shipping sector as a world leader over the same period as the Greek Shipping Awards.

The founder of energy carriers Dynacom Tankers Management, Dynagas Ltd and bulker operator Sea Traders, Procopiou is now on the verge of re-launching Hellenic Shipyards having acquired the dormant Skaramanga-based shipyards. The group also has been re-building its fleet of over 120 vessels and currently holds an orderbook for 30 newbuildings  – 10 tankers, 10 LNG carriers, 10 bulkers -- of just under 3m DWT in Korea and China.

Seven major LNG leaders and first-movers in the sector, representing 185 LNG carriers – more than 90% of the Greek-controlled LNG fleet, were awarded on the night. Evangelos Marinakis and Capital Product Partners (CPLP) were winners of the Deal of the Decade Award for their 2018 deal to spin off CPLP's tanker fleet in a $1.65bn merger with Diamond S Shipping.

International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) president Emanuele Grimaldi won the award as the International Personality of the Year for an unprecedented second time. The Italian owner has played a major role in the Greek ferry company Minoan Lines and the expansion of port services in Crete and the Ionian Sea.

Related:Procopiou emerges as top bidder for Hellenic Shipyards

Other major individual awards included the Lloyd's List / Propeller Club Lifetime Achievement Award that went to shipowner Nicholas G. Moundreas, chairman of NGM Energy. Newsmaker of the Year was Kriton Lentoudis, of Evalend Shipping, for an extraordinarily active year in contracting newbuildings.

The Next Generation Shipping Award, for industry personalities of no more than 40 years of age, went to Petros Panagiotidis, of Castor Maritime and Toro Corp.

Captain Kyriakos Mouzakis, master of Zante Ferries' ro-ro passenger ferry Adamantios Korais, was honoured as Seafarer of the Year for his outstanding conduct in August 2023 when the Alexandroupolis Hospital was evacuated and his vessel took patients to Kavala, acting as an operational hospital ship.

This year's other winners were:

A donation from the event proceeds went to Argo, the charity supporting children with disabilities in the families of Greek seafarers.