NIARCHOS GROUP.

The Niarchos family came from the Peloponnesse. Stavros Spyros Niarchos encouraged his Coumandaros uncles into shipowning in 1935. One account dates his own first ship to 1933; another gives a 60% interest in Maleas in 1938. He moved to London and then New York in 1940. After the war he formed North American Shipping & Trading with 75% American associates’ ownership to obtain U.S. T2 tankers, chartering them to a Panamanian company to avoid U.S. profit taxes. Headquarters returned to London in 1949, although most ships were still operated from New York in 1958 before a later transfer.

A-C Tankers was acquired from Standard-Vacuum, with charters transferred to World Tankers and ships sold before A-C was phased out in 1964. World names were generally used after the Second World War. Niarchos died in April 1996. The group’s final ship, World Serenity, was sold in December 2003 as the business diversified into property, refining, finance and banking. Niarchos (London) and New York’s Transoceanic Marine remained listed as owners’ representatives.

U.K., London.