Shipowner Konstantakopoulos launches third-party provider in Greece

Costamare chief executive Konstantinos Konstantakopoulos is involved in a newly established Greek third-party management company, which is initially focusing on container ships and bulk carriers.

The US-listed, Greece-based shipowner revealed in its Q2 financial report that Mr Konstantakopoulos indirectly controls Navilands Group, which operates offices in Athens and Shanghai. Since February 2024, several of Costamare’s vessel-owning subsidiaries have appointed Navilands as manager, entrusting it with technical, crewing, commercial and other services under separate shipmanagement agreements.

According to the shipping platform Equasis, Navilands Group manages 25 vessels, all belonging to Costamare. Specifically, Navilands Bulker Management and Navilands Container Management, both based in Athens, manage five vessels each. Similarly, Navilands Shanghai Bulkers Management oversees five ships, while Navilands Shanghai Containers Management controls 10 container vessels.

Navilands’ profile

Panagiotis Foinikis is the cofounder and chief executive of Navilands, as noted on his LinkedIn profile, while former Costamare employees and other senior shipping executives join him. He has extensive experience in shipmanagement, having served Costamare both on board its vessels and in various corporate roles. Additionally, he has held senior positions at the third-party specialist V Group. Notably, Capt Foinikis was part of the team that established Costamare’s offices in Shanghai a few years ago.

Riviera understands Mr Konstantakopoulos’ involvement was the initial driving force behind Navilands. However, the Group aims to diversify its operations by integrating vessels from various sectors into its platform. A business plan is already in place to secure additional funding, and the company’s team has reached out to more shipowning entities from Greece and abroad to further strengthen its platform.

Navilands is heavily relying on the latest technological applications to enhance its services. Recently, the Group announced a new partnership with the digital services platform 90POE. 90POE’s OpenOcean Studio is an exclusive cloud-based platform developed by the industry that uses data to enhance commercial, operational and technical knowledge worldwide. Based in London, it also operates strategic offices in Greece and Norway.

The V Group co-operation

Costamare has maintained a close partnership with V Group since 2013, when it formed a shipmanagement alliance, V Ships (Greece), with a focus on the Greek market. About four years ago, the two companies expanded their collaboration, allowing the third-party service provider to take on greater responsibilities in managing and manning a variety of Costamare’s vessels.

As of March 2024, V Ships Greece provided technical, crewing, provisioning, bunkering, sale and purchase, and accounting services for 17 of Costamare’s container ships and 19 of their dry bulk vessels. Additionally, V Ships Shanghai offered the same range of services to six ships, including five container vessels and one bulk carrier.

Third-party hub

Greece is one of the world’s leading shipmanagement hubs, attracting numerous companies that provide third-party services and aims to serve local shipowners. Government data shows a 7% growth in shipmanagement entities established in Greece since 2013.

Sources indicate several foreign investment funds have expressed interest in expanding their management activities within the Greek maritime hub.

Notably, earlier this year, Hong Kong-based Anglo-Eastern Univan Group expanded into Greece by acquiring Euronav Ship Management Hellas, Euronav’s shipmanagement arm. Additionally, the Japanese giant Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line) opened an office in Greece in 2023 under the command of NYK Bulkship (Atlantic) NV, the Group’s European representative, pursuing chartering business for bulk carriers.