Dry-cargo firms receive this year’s top awards from Lloyd’s List for Greek shipping
Greek dry-cargo shipping has had an excellent year in 2007, as proven by Lloyd’s List Awards during an event organized for the fourth consecutive year, this time on December 7, at the Athenaeum Inter-Continental. Lloyd’s List Greek Shipping Awards is the shipping industry’s premier national awards event, handed out at an annual presentation dinner that has become an eagerly awaited fixture in the maritime calendar. Ioannis Carras was declared the Shipping Personality of the Year, but the award was received by his granddaughter Tatiana Petala (manager of the Carras Group). Diana Shipping, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, was named Dry-Cargo Company of the Year, while Giorgos Economou, DryShips CEO, won the award for Greek Shipping Newsmaker of the Year, the only award directly chosen by Lloyd’s List from proposals by its own senior editorial staff. An independent committee awarded Pericles Panagopoulos for his overall contribution to shipping during a career of more than 50 years. Arcadia Ship Management, owned by Constantinos Angelopoulos, received the Tanker Company of the Year Award, while Hellenic Seaways made a first-time achievement, taking two awards: Best Company and Best Ship of the Year. In the services sector, Weber Compass (Hellas) was named the Shipbroker of the Year, and Deutsche Schiffsbank, operating in the Greek market since 1961, collected the Shipping Financier of the Year award. The Award for Achievement in Safety or Environmental Protection was granted to Tsavliris Salvage Group. In addition, Giorgos Carras, captain of the small ferry Nisos Thirasia, was commended for his excellent services in rescuing the lives of more than 1,000 passengers on board the cruiser Sea Diamond, which sank last spring just off the island of Santorini.
