Well-known Greek shipowner and entrepreneur Pericles Panagopoulos passed away on Tuesday at the age of 84. After decades as a top shipping executive based in London, Genoa and Piraeus, he founded Royal Cruise Line in 1971, a pioneering company in the cruise ship sector.
He sold the company to Norwegian cruise operator Kloster in 1989 for 300 million USD, a major development at the time in the global shipping sector. The same year he founded Magna Marine Inc. to manage bulkers, with the company continuing its activity until today with four vessels.
In 1990 he acquired 20 percent of Vernicos Yachts, as well as an ATHEX-listed flour producer, and, in 1992, a majority of shares of the Greek Registry, along with a trio of business partners.
In 1993 he purchased 30 percent of Strintzis Lines, before founding Superfast Ferries a short time later by ordering two state-of-the-art ferry boats to service routes connecting Greece with Italy in the Adriatic. After acquiring a majority stake in 1999, the company is renamed Blue Star Ferries.
His Attica group is sold in 2008 to MIG group, then controlled by the late Andreas Vgenopoulos, in February 2008 for 455 million euros.
Panagopoulos was abducted for ransom in January 2008 and held for eight days. A coterie of underworld figures and inmates were arrested in the case.
