Greek shipowners not threatened by crisis

Peter Livanos, with a fortune estimated close to 3 billion Euros

The leading Greek shipping magnates are John Angelicoussis, George Prokopiou, Peter Livanos and George Economou. Between them, they own almost 400 vessels.

Shipping is a source of pride and jobs for Greeks. It is the one area in which they unquestionably lead the world: their country’s merchant fleet is the biggest on Earth. Directly and indirectly, it is reckoned to give work to almost 200,000 people.

But the shipping business also provokes resentment. Greece’s 1967 constitution stipulates that the industry should pay no tax on the international earnings it brings into the country. And it has little to fear from either the debt crisis or an exit from the euro.

“It’s not really affecting us because we’re not Greek companies: we’re based abroad,” said a tanker owner who requested anonymity in view of the sensitivity of the situation. “The law allows us to have a ship registered in Liberia or Panama and an office in Greece. If everything collapses, we can leave the next day and establish in Cyprus or wherever.

“Our business is done in US dollars and shipping companies don’t just have one account in one country,” he said. So, the current financial problems there will not have any impact on Greece’s ship owners.

[February 9 2011  Irene SL: Nikolas Lemos VLCC hijacked]







9285823 IRENE SL SVXS Crude Oil Tanker 319247 2004 Greece First Navigation Special Maritime Enterprises
350 nautical miles South East of Muscat with 266,000 tons of crude
Enesel S.A. is a ship-management company based in Athens, Greece, operating a diverse fleet of ultra-modern high specification tankers and bulk carriers.

Enesel S.A.’s history can be directly traced back over 150 years to c.1848, when Georgios C. Lemos (“Papa-Lemos”) acquired a small share in a sailing ship. Since then, The Group has had an active and strong presence in the shipping industry. Until the early 20th century its vessels were managed in Greece, with S.G. Livanos as their London representatives. In 1937 Lemos & Pateras Ltd. was set up in London. Nearly fifty years later, in 1983, N.S. Lemos & Co. Ltd., a continuation of Lemos & Pateras Ltd., was established by Captain Nikolas S. Lemos, to act as Agent for Avra Shipmanagement S.A. which was founded in the late 1950s, and subsequently for Sealuck Shipping Corporation, founded in 1993. Avra Shipmanagement S.A. and Sealuck Shipping Corporation were merged to create Enesel S.A. in 2003. During its long history, The Group has operated almost all types of dry cargo vessels, as well as container ships, multipurpose ships and OBOs, and has had a significant presence in most large crude carrier segments.

Enesel S.A. currently manages a modern and diverse fleet of five tankers - three VLCC and two aframax - and three supramax bulk carriers and also has three suezmax tankers on order. The average age of the current fleet is 3.75 years. All existing vessels, as well as ships on order, are constructed to the highest international standards in first-class shipyards. The entire fleet is chartered to high profile charterers and operators on both a voyage and time-charter basis.

Irene SL: USD 13.5 million ransom, pirates claim

USD 13.5 million ransom was paid for the Irene SL. silver fox


The Irene SL’s cargo of Kuwaiti crude oil represents nearly 20% (one fifth) of total U.S. daily crude oil imports. This one cargo is 12% of all oil coming out of the Middle East Gulf each day, and 5% of total daily world seaborne oil supply. here

Irene SL: released with 270,000 mt of crude oil

Somali pirates released the Greek-owned oil tanker " Irene SL" late Thursday after 58 days in captivity.

A spokesman for ENESEL SA, the manager, declined to comment on how the vessel was returned or whether a ransom was paid.

The supertanker was headed to the U.S. Gulf Coast from Mina Al Ahmadi, Kuwait, carrying 270,000 metric tons of crude oil when it was attacked and seized in early February off the coast of Oman.

The vessel N.S. Lemos & Co., plans to sail the ship to Durban, South Africa, for inspection and resupply, while also replacing the ship's officers and crew.

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Irene SL: Damage claims rising faster than premiums

Pirates operating some 1,000 miles off the coast of Somalia, 350 nautical miles South East of Muscat hijacked IRENE SL with 266,000 tons of crude, haunting waters previously considered safe. Crease/gap between USN and EU NAVFOR? "These are worthwhile targets for the pirates, who are feeling their way forward," .
"We don't know how it will develop but the trend is toward an increasing number of pirate attacks,"

Brokers estimate sales of marine kidnap & ransom policies have risen to about $125 million a year since 2008, when the products were first developed in response to an upsurge in vessel seizures and ransom demands off the cost of Somalia. "Damage claims have been rising faster than premiums can be adjusted up to now," Berg said, warning that losses could be much greater and might involve damage to the environment in the event of a sinking.

With 40 naval warships now patrolling the Gulf of Aden and waters off East Africa, pirates are shifting their attention further afield, including towards the Strait of Hormuz, through which pass around 40 percent of the world's oil shipments by sea.
Ransom payments have shot up over the last five years and now average around $4.5 million TO $5 million per ship, from around $150,000 to $300,000 previously. Hostages now spend an average of four months in captivity, a month longer than before.
The economic cost of piracy has been estimated at $7 billion to $12 billion per year, with shippers facing rising insurance costs that threaten to boost commodity prices.

Munich Re's premiums in the transport segment total around 1 billion euros ($1.4 billion), of which only a fraction is piracy-related.
Munich Re