Highly anticipated annual event sees the first woman elected to The Greek Shipping Hall of Fame. The two Inductees for 2024 bring the Hall of Fame’s pantheon of great personalities to 45.
Athens - 12 May 2025: Two of the most liked and admired personalities in modern Greek shipping have been inducted into the Greek Shipping Hall of Fame.
Athina Martinou (1927-2024) and Spyros M. Polemis (1937-2024) were unveiled as the latest Inductees into the Hall of Fame as 570 shipping industry guests at the annual Induction Ceremony & Dinner were witness to a historic occasion.
Martinou, who provided the entrepreneurial spark and passion for one of the industry’s most successful family dynasties, becomes the first woman elected to the Greek Shipping Hall of Fame, which has inducted more than 40 men in the 19 years since it was established. Polemis, a tireless champion of shipping, played a leading role in numerous Greek and international organisations and was the only Greek until today who has been Chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS).
Voting for Inductees takes place annually and is open to members of the Greek Shipping Hall of Fame Academy, currently numbering about 300 prominent individuals in today’s Greek shipping community. The integrity of the on-line voting and the final results are overseen by accounting and consulting firm Moore Greece.
Athina Martinou (1927-2024) was a unique figure in the growth of Greek shipping and was widely recognised throughout the maritime community for her passion for the sea and shipping.
Often known simply by the nickname ‘Nounou’, Martinou was born in Athens but came from the Methenitis family that originated from the maritime island of Cephalonia. She grew up by the sea at Glyfada and from an early age was fond of sailing and fishing.
With her determination to enter the shipping business, Martinou persuaded her husband, Ioannis Martinos, that they should use the capital saved from their antiques shop to acquire a first vessel. Acquired in 1965 and named after the couple’s first-born son, the Thanasis was soon followed by additional ships and by 1972 Martinou had established Thenamaris as the family’s own ship management company.
One of the most significant decisions of Martinou’s life in shipping was to hand over the reins to her three sons while they were all still at a very young age. She continued to go to the Thenamaris offices daily and saw the family’s footprint in shipping expand to anything between 250 and 300 vessels at any given time, spread between Thenamaris and the other companies established by her children and grandchildren – Eastern Mediterranean Maritime, Minerva Marine and Astra Shipmanagement.
As Martinou herself said, “you can never have too many ships.”
Spyros M. Polemis (1937-2024) hailed from a historic Andros shipping family. His father was a ship’s captain and his grandfather a chief engineer.
An engineer and naval architect by training, Polemis worked in the family’s US office before launching his owner career as a shipowner in London, where he established Polesons in 1970, before later changing the name of the company to Seacrest Shipping. At the same time, Remi Maritime was established in Greece to manage the fleet. Over the next several decades, the group operated a variety of dry cargo vessels and tankers.
Polemis also threw his energies and expertise into a large number of industry organisations. Most notably of all, he became the first Greek elected Chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the global umbrella for national shipping associations. During his two terms, from 2006 to 2012, he proved himself a strong helmsman during a turbulent time for the industry that included the fallout from the global financial crisis and the upsurge of Somali piracy.
Another important chapter in Polemis’ legacy was his success in securing a surviving Liberty Ship for Greece, so realising a personal dream. After the Arthur M. Huddell was located in the US, the 1943-built freighter was brought to Piraeus as the SS Hellas Liberty and transformed into a floating museum, symbolising the recovery of Greek shipping after the Second World War.
Polemis was a keen historian and authority on Greek maritime history. Friends and family testify that the same inquiring, engineer’s mind that he brought to matters of global industry importance was also reflected in a myriad of other passions, including cooking, winemaking and sailing. 
The Induction Ceremony & Dinner supported children’s charity Hellenic Hope with a donation. George Alexandratos, President of the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping, presented this on behalf of the Greek Shipping Hall of Fame to Andreas Bouras, Hellenic Hope’s Chief Executive.
The Induction Ceremony also marked 50 years without Aristotle Onassis, the most famous shipowner of them all, who died in 1975. Among other tributes, the event featured an after-diner speech by the historian and author Gelina Harlaftis, perhaps the foremost authority worldwide on Onassis and his business. As a token of gratitude after a riveting speech on what made Onassis unique, Prof Harlaftis was presented with the traditional Hall of Fame Archimede Hourglass, handcrafted by Cosi Tabellini. The presentation was made on the Hall of Fame’s behalf by Charalampos Simantonis, President of the Hellenic Shortsea Shipowners Association.
Impressive shipping industry support for the event was led by ABS, IRI/The Marshall Islands Registry and Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., the three Co-Lead Sponsors of the Induction Ceremony.
“ABS is honoured to sponsor this event and recognise those whose steely resolve and vision helped shape the maritime industry both here and around the globe,” said Elias Kariambas, Vice President, Southern Europe Marine Business Development, of ABS. “These pioneers built the Greek shipping industry into what it is today, ultimately passing the torch for future generations to keep alight,” he added.
“These individuals have steered our industry through the challenges and opportunities of the past, creating a foundation for those of us in the industry today,” said Theofilos Xenakoudis, Chief Commercial Officer, and Managing Director – Piraeus, Greece for IRI/The Marshall Islands Registry. “For decades, Greek shipowners have been at the forefront of the shipping industry and the Marshall Islands Registry has been proud to support their endeavors,” Xenakoudis added.
“At SWS we continue to be inspired by the unique stories of the Hall of Fame’s Inductees. We continue working with our Greek friends to advance decarbonisation and digitalisation, and to ensure the resilience of supply chains,” said Zhang Qipeng, Vice President of SWS. “We are proud to be part of the enduring partnership between our two ancient civilisations, China and Greece.”
Three of Greece’s largest shipping groups continued their kind support for the event: TMS Group was the event’s welcome drinks sponsor; Navios Maritime Partners sponsored the dinner. A taste of Chios island was again provided by The Tsakos Group as after-dinner digestifs sponsor.
Ascenz Marorka, Cayman Islands Shipping Registry, Citi Private Bank, Kpler, Moore Greece, OceanScore, Optima Shipping Services, PPG and Seajets, supported the event as Premium Sponsors.
The Greek Shipping Hall of Fame also expressed gratitude to Bank Julius Baer for enhancing its support for Hellenic Hope.
Further kind sponsorship support came from Allied Shipbroking, Antipollution, China Classification Society, ClassNK, Columbia Group, EDIT Automation, Franman, Isle of Man Ship Registry, Kongsberg, KPMG, Kyvernitis Travel Group, Lloyd’s Register, Marcura, Marichem Marigases Worldwide Services, Marine Support, Marine Tours, Monjasa, Polygreen, SiriusPoint, UK Defence Club and the UK P&I Club.
The Greek Shipping Hall of Fame resides at www.greekshippinghalloffame.org
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