The Business History of 23 Greek-Owned Shipping Companies: Evaluated by Management

Abstract

We presented the business history, since 1850, of 23 Greek-owned multi-member family shipping companies, having no less than 6 sons, and coming mainly from a Greek island. Generation after generation, and up to six ones, Greek shipowners fought—but defeated—by a premature death as well by a depression , although they have built-up a successful shipping tradition. We saw shipping companies to establish up to 10 additional ones, and some to act as ship-owners’ schools and almost all to open offices in NY, Piraeus and London, indicating their destiny to become global cross-traders one day. We also saw the frequent split-ups by—almost all companies—and the courage of some to buy-over a shipyard, as well to play the “Game of Assets”. Luck, no doubt, one may say, favored Greek shipowners by providing to them 107 Liberty type of ships, in 1947: but this was just a serious opportunity, given that the 23 shipping companies presented, owned by more than 35 m dwt by 2000s. Taking-into account that, indeed, Greek shipowners were unhelped by Sciences, and thus had to use rules of thumb, we proposed to them a “statistical tool/the Regression Method” to analyze and forecast ships’ prices.