Greek shipbrokers took centre stage across town from Athens last week, where a flurry of discussions and parties revolved around the traditional biennial meeting of the Hellenic Shipbrokers Association (HSA).
About 1,000 guests gathered for the main event at the Pireas 2019 shipbrokers' dinner, which was held at the Athens Metropolitan Expo on 21 June.
Captain Panagiotis Tsakos received an award from HSA president John Cotzias, the son and nephew of the brokers who helped Tsakos buy his first ship back in 1970, for $240,000 on sellers’ credit.
“Nobody knew us back then and we couldn’t insure the ship, so your father insured it for us,” Tsakos said.
The day before the dinner, experts from all walks of shipping gathered at the 7th Global Shipbrokers Forum at the Yacht Club of Greece.
On the sidelines, several brokerages invited guests to in-house parties.
For many years, Optima International Shipbroking Services has hosted one such event at their Athens headquarters, and this year's attracted more than 400 friends, colleagues and partners, including clients such as Klaveness Marine, Thenamaris and Goldenport Shipmanagement.
BRS invited hundreds of guests to the exclusive Lagonissi resort a few kilometres south of Athens.
