SAFETY4SEA is pleased to announce that Capt. Panagiotis Tsakos has received the 2018 SAFETY4SEA Leadership Award at a prestigious award ceremony which successfully concluded on October the 2nd at Yacht Club of Greece in Athens, the evening ahead of the SAFETY4SEA Conference.
Capt. Panagiotis Tsakos received the SAFETY4SEA Leadership Award, sponsored by Bureau Veritas, for devoting most of his time in his own people – the seafarers – attracting and maximizing human (male & female) potential and enhancing advancement of talented and committed associates both onboard and ashore. Within this context he visualized and created The Maria Tsakos Foundation- International Centre of Maritime Research and Tradition, aiming to promote social acknowledgement of the maritime profession and further enhance its growth potential in the generations to come.
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Presenting the award Mrs. Paillette Palaiologou, Vice President, Hellenic, Black Sea & Adriatic Zone, Bureau Veritas, said: “I feel extremely honored to present the Leadership Award to Captain Panagiotis Tsakos, a distinguished business man but above all, a man of the sea. Some of the main milestones of the “Tsakos Group” are its commitment to the Hellenic nautical traditions, embracement of innovation, devotion to team-work and priority to safety for the general benefit of the humanity & the environment.”
Accepting the award Capt. Panagiotis Tsakos stated: “The most important thing that i achieved in my life was becoming a captain. After that everything has happened. When i became Master of a ship at 26, we had 140.000 seafarers and less than 1.000 ships. I have been very lucky, i have met some very special people in my life. I owe this award in the men and women in my company, onboard the ships and the offices and especially my parents and my wife. But more importantly, i have been lucky in my life and all the people i met, they have treated me exceptionally kind. You have all honoured me with your presence and your selection.“
Capt. Panagiotis N. Tsakos was born in Kardamyla on the island of Chios, Greece from parents both descending from seafarers’ families. For young Panagiotis the sea has always been in his blood; thus, going to sea was a natural course rather than a choice. Yet, this destiny was due to become a lifelong passion which created a distinct marine culture in the years to come. Capt. Tsakos studied the profession of becoming a captain and graduated from the Livanos Marine Academy at his hometown Kardamyla in Chios, the birthplace of a number of prominent personalities of the maritime industry. He then embarked on a maritime career, promoted through the ranks to Captain and thereafter advanced to a shipping executive with a major Greek Owner. Striking out on his own, it was natural for him to lead a small group of investors- comprised of family members and friends- on to the acquisition of the first Tsakos Shipping & Trading S.A. ship, back in 1970. Surrounded by his brothers and friends, inspired by his life time companion and wife Dr Irene Saroglou, and thereafter supported by his beloved children Niko and Maria, he has lead that little company to its current proportions of a diversified fleet of approximately 70 vessels, whilst expanding its investment base and attaining successful sustainable growth over all these years, through good and bad times for the industry.
The Leadership Award is a special category of award, nominated directly by the SAFETY4SEA editorial team, without the open voting procedure. SAFETY4SEA Awards are held annually within the scope of awarding industry’s outstanding practices for Excellence, Sustainability, Training, Technology, Initiative and Leadership. Other winners of the 2018 SAFETY4SEA Awards are: Norbulk Shipping UK Ltd for the Dry Bulk Operator Award, Arcadia Shipmanagement Co.Ltd for the Tanker Operator Award, Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) for the Sustainability Award, Inmarsat for the Technology Award, CSMART for the Training Award and UK Club for the Initiative Award.
Find photos from the awards ceremony at Flickr and explore more about the nomination & voting procedure and the winners of 2018 SAFETY4SEA Awards at https://events.safety4sea.com/2018-safety4sea-awards/