Maran Centaurus: Angelicoussis pays 7 million

The Maran Centaurus, one of the largest oil tankers ever seized, was captured on 29 November with 28 crew members.

A ransom of between $5.5m (£3.4m) and $7m (£4.3m) was dropped on the deck of the supertanker.

The money was said to have sparked an argument among the pirates and delayed the release of the ship now resolved. "We have agreed to solve our disagreements and release the ship. It is free and sailing away now," one of the pirates, Hassan, telephoned."The crew are all safe."


Maran Tankers Management manages a fleet of 50 tankers in the water and on order, of which 34 are understood to be beneficially for the John Angelicoussis-led group and 16 for Alpha Tankers & Freighters, belonging to Mr Angelicoussis' sister and brother in law.
Angelicoussis Shipping Group, which includes the world's largest privately held tanker fleet in terms of tonnage, has rebranded its tanker management arm. Mr. John A. Angelicoussis, Chairman and President, Age: 61

Company executives confirmed that Kristen Navigation, which was established in November 1992 as the traditionally dry cargo group moved heavily into tankers, has been renamed Maran Tankers Management. Kristen Navigation Inc was incorporated as a private limited company in Liberia, in April 1992.

The new name echoes Maran Gas Maritime, the company established five years ago by Angelicoussis to operate its new fleet of liquefied natural gas carriers.

As before, the group's dry bulk division continues as Anangel Maritime Services.

Communications sent to business partners and suppliers state that the change is purely for internal corporate purposes.

Despite the name change, "all existing personnel and procedures will remain in place without any change", the company said.

"It is due to consolidation and expansion," the tanker operation was occupying new premises to meetthe need for more space.

But he ruled out any new corporate unification of the tanker and gas fleets despite the name similarity. "It is nothing like that," he said. "Everything continues very much as before."

The mother group of Anangel is called Agelef Shipping Group Ltd.. It is managed by John Angelicoussis. The group has offices in Piraeus, London, Houston, Manila and Okpo, and operates more than 50 vessels, mainly bulk carriers and tankers. The two main management companies of the group are Anangel Shipping Enterprises, which operates about 25 bulk carriers, and Maran Tankers Management (Kristen Navigation) with some 30 tankers. Anangel-American Shipholdings Limited engages in the business of acquiring and operating ocean-going cargo vessels. As of May 2009, the company owned and operated twenty-one vessels: two multipurpose, seven handysize, seven Panamax, and five Capesize with a further two Panamax vessels on order. The company's vessels are owned or leased by separate Panamanian or Liberian corporations, all of which are wholly owned by the company. Its dry cargo fleet is managed by Anangel Shipping Enterprises S.A. The company's operations are conducted worldwide, primarily outside of the United States. It intends to focus its dry cargo operations in such a manner as to service the demands of energy related transportation. In May, the company announced the sale of the vessels: M.V. 'Anangel Millennium', M.V. 'Anangel Century', M. V. 'Anangel Afovos' (Hull No. 1139), and Hull No. 1144 to the Kanellakis family.