Epaminondas G.E. Embiricos Chairman of the Greek Shipping Co-operation Committee came to London in 1969, at which time he already had a degree from MIT in Boston. However, the Greek presence in London started a long time before then.
The first Greeks came to London in the early 1800s from the Island of Chios. They were often both merchants and shipowners and were involved in the export of grain from the Russian Black Sea to Europe. They were most successful and their enterprises prospered. Pandia Ralli was one of the founders of the Baltic Exchange in the mid-1800s.
The Ralli brothers became important merchants in London – and their company achieved a prominent presence in India and an important position in the trade between India and the UK. Another Chiot, Michel Rodokanachi, had become the largest shareholder in the Baltic Exchange by 1900.
With the advent of the Crimean War, the grain trade with Russia was no longer viable and other Greek families came to London and built up the grain trade from the Danube. These families had connections with Romania and developed the trade and transport between that country, the UK and other countries in Europe.
“These families came mainly from the Ionian Islands and from the Island of Andros. Our family, coming from Andros, was involved in the Danube trade and my great uncle Alkiviadis Embiricos lived in Braila, Romania
at the time,” says Epaminondas G. E. Embiricos.
Committee established in 1935
In the 1930s, due to the severe freight market slump, British, Greek and other shipowners created a minimum-rate scheme for the traffic between Argentina and the UK. In 1935, a committee was established to administer this rate scheme. This was when the Greek Shipping Co-operation Committee was formed, to represent the Greek interests.
Many Greeks from Chios and Kassos came to London, between the two World Wars. More came after World War II – and the flow became even greater in the early 1960s when John F. Kennedy introduced tax measures that made many Greeks move from New York to London. Thus the Greek shipping cluster in London gained great prominence.
100 offices in London
There are currently about 100 Greek shipping offices in London.
“We are attracted to London by the strength of the maritime cluster here. The chartering services provided in London are first rate, as are those provided by bankers, lawyers, insurers, surveyors and average adjusters, to name but a few,” emphasises Epaminondas Embiricos. “London remains the world’s pre-eminent maritime centre,” he says, but sees at the same time that Piraeus is constantly strengthening its position.
“The Greek Shipping Co-operation Committee plays an important role in working to further the interests of the Greek maritime industry,” Embiricos says. “We follow closely many international matters, such as the work of the IMO, which we strongly support. We remain in close touch with the Greek Government. We cooperate with our many British friends, both generally as well as through the Baltic Exchange and Chamber of Shipping. In short, we work to ensure that the Greek shipping cluster in London will remain vibrant and successful in the years to come, and will continue to contribute to the broader shipping industry.”