Martinos says East Med has previously considered the idea of floating and could do so in the future when he expects a greater portion of his rivals to do the same.

He said: “I have flirted with the idea of going public not for the reason of raising capital but for the continuity.

“If you are public, you have a more collective management, you have a corporate profile, so I would not exclude in the future that we go public but perhaps in a European venue.”

He added: “I think it is a trend for Greek shipping and a larger percentage of shipping companies will be public in the future. We have seen that happening in the last 10 years.

“It is good for the world, as what Greeks have to offer for the world is shipping expertise. It’s good that we share this with world investors.”

Speaking at the TradeWinds Shipowners Forum at Posidonia, Martinos also embraced the arrival of PE cash in the industry.

“We feel the competition,” he said. “On the other hand, we welcome this investment activity as it gives business to the world shipyards. It creates innovation as this new capital invests in expensive and innovative ships that for a private owner are too expensive. They make the cost of transport cheaper, which is of benefit to the world consumer and they contribute to cleaner seas.

“Plus, we have seen in our local economy the employment of highly qualified and highly paid individuals and the necessary infrastructure like lawyers and specialist accountants.”

Martinos says he does not expect shipping’s PE investors to make big money but he does not believe they will lose money either. “Their starting point was at reasonable price levels. If they are patient, they might even make some money,” he said.

Despite his support for the arrival of the PE funds, Martinos suggests their cash could have been better used.

“If the investment was directed less in newbuildings and more in the secondhand ships and in the purchase of whole companies that are in existence, that would not contribute to the oversupply of tonnage and stabilise prices or even help prices.

“Perhaps for the future the PE investors in shipping should be better directed at investment in secondhand ships,” he said.

East Med has a mixed fleet of 58 vessels, including 13 newbuildings, according to Clarksons.

Martinos says the dry cargo market is likely to be volatile going forward and is more optimistic for crude tankers next year.

“But then shipping is beautiful because it is unpredictable. When you don’t expect it, good times will come,” he said.