Death of prominent shipowner, resort developer Vassilis Constantakopoulos

“Captain” Vassilis Constantakopoulos, one of Greece’s most prominent shipowners and developer of luxury hotel complexes in his birthplace Messinia, died early Tuesday at the age of 76, after a bout with cancer.

Constantakopoulos, founder of the shipping firm Costamare, was born in 1935 in Diavolitsi, Messinia. He left for Athens in 1948, where he worked while attending a night high school, graduating in 1953.

That same year he set sail as an unpaid apprentice on a small ship, the beginning of his maritime career, and in 1974 he created his own company, Costamare Shipping Company SA after purchasing an old, small ship.

Today Costamare, which remains a family business, manages 46 container ships and is the largest independent container shipping company in the world, with its entire fleet under the Greek flag.

A forward-looking entrepreneur, Constantakopoulos also became involved in the tourism industry, and was the founder and president of TEMES, developer of the new, world-renowned Costa Navarino resort in his homeland Messinia.

He further turned his focus to industry, and was the founder and president of Geohellas, a metallurgy company involved in the mining, processing and marketing of industrial minerals from the company’s self-owned deposits in the prefectures of Grevena and Kozani.

Married to Carmen Kyritsi, he is survived by their three sons Costis, Achilleas and Christos who today manage Costamare, TEMES and Geohellas, respectively.

He was a founding member and later chairman of the Hellenic Marine Environment Protection Association (HELMEPA), HELMEPA Junior — which received the UNEP Global 500 award in 1998 – and Intermepa.

In 2000, Constantakopoulos and his wife founded the Hellenic Studies Centre at the University of Beijing, and the family group of companies continues to finance its operation.

Constantakopoulos served on the boards of directors of numerous Greek and international organisations in the maritime field, and has been awarded by the Academy of Athens, the European Union and several cities and chambers for his activities and contribution.

He was also a major benefactor of public benefit foundations and projects.