John Fredriksen has paid tribute to fellow shipping colossus John Angelicoussis, who died on Saturday in an Athens hospital aged 72.
Fredriksen, who is known as a man of strong views that are usually kept private, said: “I remember John Angelicoussis as a very clever man and feel it is so sad to see him go.”
He added: “Angelicoussis was among the best Greeks.”
The Greek shipowner died three weeks after suffering a suspected heart attack and stroke while at home. He never regained consciousness. A private funeral was held on Monday in Athens.
Influence
As arguably the two most successful and influential independent shipowners of the last two decades, Angelicoussis and Fredriksen crossed swords in the late 1990s over the takeover of Swedish tanker owner ICB Shipping.
Fredriksen had previously met John’s father and company founder Anthony many times, but it was only during the battle for ICB’s VLCC assets that the Norwegian owner got to know his Greek rival more closely.
“I remember we were quarrelling until the middle of the night,” Fredriksen recalled.
Both shipping magnates have built huge fleets, but their style and approach has been very different.
The Angelicoussis Shipping Group says it has 139 ships on the water and 15 newbuildings. According to Clarksons data, it has 140 trading vessels and orders for 10 more totalling nearly 28m dwt.
The John Fredriksen group has a total of 248 ships and nine newbuildings totalling 32.5m dwt, according to Clarksons.
But while Fredriksen has a diverse network of public and private companies including Frontline, Golden Ocean, Flex LNG and Seatankers, the Angelicoussis group is wholly private and controlled centrally.
Love of detail
Angelicoussis was known for his focus on the detail of every ship and deal, which former colleagues and rivals credit for his success. By contrast, Fredriksen focuses his attention more widely.
Fredriksen said Angelicoussis was a very skilful operator who in “many ways was a bit of a control freak”.
He added: “It’s very sad to see him go. He was not that old.”
Another contrast has been the role of the pair’s daughters. Fredriksen’s twin daughters Kathrine and Cecilie have never been heavily involved in the day-to-day operations of their father’s shipping companies.
But by contrast, Angelicoussis’ only daughter Maria has now taken leadership of the group, having joined in 2008 and being given increasing responsibility in the last few years.
Most Angelicoussis group companies today carry the prefix Maran, an abbreviation of the names of both his daughter and his mother, who are and were both named Maria Angelicoussis.
