Spyros Polemis passes away

One of the great names in shipowning, Spyros Polemis, passed away on July 21.

The Greek owner, who ran Seacrest Shipping, served as chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) from 2006 to 2012 and had a long history of leadership within the shipping industry.

“Mr Polemis was a tireless advocate for shipping, and the maintenance of global rules for a global industry, steering shipping through the enormous challenges presented by the 2008 financial crisis and the worst years of the Somali piracy crisis,” ICS stated in a release.

He was also one of the original industry advocates for a levy on shipping’s greenhouse gas emissions in response to global warming, which became a key ICS policy position under his chairmanship.