Prominent Greek shipowner Konstantinos Konstantakopoulos has lifted his stake in Capesize specialist Seanergy Maritime Holdings, surpassing George Economou as the largest outside investor in the US-listed company
According to a filing issued on 13 March, the head of Costamare now holds 2.21M shares, representing a 10.9% stake in the Stamatis Tsantanis-led company. Mr Konstantakopoulos acquired the shares through his investment vehicle, Longshaw Maritime Investments.
This latest move follows his decision to increase his stake to 9.0% in January. His association with Seanergy dates back to July 2023, when it was disclosed he had acquired a 5.1% stake. Sources have told Riviera that Mr Konstantakopoulos’ investment in Seanergy is a private endeavour, independent of Costamare.
While Mr Konstantakopoulos’ stake seems to represent a personal investment, Costamare Bulkers, the dry bulk division of Costamare, is one of Seanergy’s top charterers. In its Q4 earnings report released earlier this month, Seanergy noted Costamare had fixed four of its 21 vessels.
Most recently, Costamare Bulkers secured a time charter forMeiship, Seanergy’s newly acquired Newcastlemax bulk carrier, for up to 15 months.
Proxy battle with George Economou
Seanergy’s shareholder structure has been in the spotlight over the past few years as both George Economou and Konstantinos Konstantakopoulos have built significant stakes.
Mr Economou, who heads TMS Group, one of Greece’s largest shipping companies, holds 9.1% of Seanergy’s shares through his investment vehicle, Sphinx Investment Corp. His involvement has triggered anongoing proxy battle between the two sides.
In May 2024, Sphinx proposed the removal of board members Stamatis Tsantanis, Christina Anagnostara and Elias Culucundis, nominating Georgios Kokkodis and John Liveris as replacements. However, at Seanergy’s annual meeting in November, shareholders rejected Mr Economou’s proposals and re-elected the company’s two director nominees, Dimitrios Anagnostopoulos and Ioannis Kartsonas, to serve until 2027.
Following the vote, Seanergy issued a statement emphasising shareholder support, “Today’s vote underscores that Seanergy shareholders have firmly rejected G Economou’s self-serving attempt to seize control, standing decisively against his proposals.”
Record financial performance
Seanergy reported a record net income of US$43.5M in 2024, a substantial increase from US$2.3M in 2023. Net revenues rose to US$167.5M, up from US110.2M the previous year.
Stamatis Tsantanis remains bullish on the Capesize market’s outlook. He cited strong iron ore and bauxite exports, a historically low orderbook, and coal’s continued role in the global power mix as key drivers for growth.
Notably, rates have recovered significantly in recent weeks, and analysts remain cautiously optimistic about the market’s trajectory.
