One of Greece’s best know shipowners, Captain Nikolaos “Nicos” Frangos died on Sunday aged 90.
Father of Angeliki Frangou head of the Navios group and John Frangos, also a well-known shipowner, Capt Frangos was considered by many to be one of the most astute shipping brains of his generation. He was also renowned for charitable work and the encouragement of Greek shipping.
He was born in 1926 in Kardamyla, on the island of Chios, into a family of merchant masters. Even in his teens he was a man of the sea and in 1947 he salvaged a family-owned ship sunk during the German–Italian occupation.
Capt Nicos continued sailing, buying his first vessel in 1960 – the Captain Frangos. A second was added four years later when he started his cooperation with Nikolaos Moundreas, with whom he founded Good Faith Shipping in 1966.
With the two at the helm Good Faith Shipping, by the early 1990s it had one of Greece’s largest fleets shipwise and during its lifetime ran some 150 ships. Good Faith sold its last trading ship at the beginning of 2013.
Frangos was one of the first Greeks to develop ties with China foreseeing the country’s shipping potential and economic strength. He contributed to the training of Greek and Chinese seafarers, funding the establishment of two public schools in China’s Yunnan province. China awarded him its highest recognition for a foreign citizen.
He was well known for charitable contributions in his home town Kardamyla, and he and late wife Stella, donated large amounts to charitable projects. He was a supporter of the Greek Orthodox Church, both in Greece and the US, and helped establish the Ecclesiastical radio station of Greece, and aided the renovation of the prominent Akto Miaouli waterfront church of Saint Spyridon, patron of Piraeus.
He is survived by three children — Angeliki, John and Maria — and grandchildren.
The funeral took place in Kefalari in the north of Athens on Monday 12 December.
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