Giorgos Vardinogiannis, the ‘Captain’ of shipping and Panathinaikos, dies aged 90

Greek shipowner Giorgos Vardinogiannis, a member of the family behind one of Greece’s largest shipping and energy businesses and president of Panathinaikos for almost 21 years, died on Friday aged 90. Known as the ‘Captain’, Vardinogiannis died following a short stay in hospital. He began his career at sea before taking charge of the Athens football club in 1979, overseeing six league titles, nine Greek Cups and two European semi-final appearances. Born in Episkopi, Rethymno, in 1936, he trained at a merchant navy college in Southampton before serving aboard merchant ships. His brothers Nikos and Vardis went into business after serving in the Greek navy, while other members of the family pursued careers in shipping and politics. The family built its business around ships, marine fuels and oil refining. Among its early ventures was SEKA, established at Kaloi Limenes in southern Crete in 1963 alongside Mobil and Aristotle Onassis to supply fuel to vessels on eastern Mediterranean routes. Nikos also founded Varnima, with interests in shipping and hotels. One of the most closely documented episodes of Giorgos’s seafaring career came in 1966, when he captained the Joanna V, also known as Ioanna V, during the international oil embargo against Rhodesia’s white-minority government. He took the tanker towards Beira in Mozambique, then a Portuguese colony, despite British efforts to prevent oil reaching landlocked Rhodesia through the port’s pipeline. The voyage became the subject of a diplomatic dispute and helped prompt Britain to seek explicit UN Security Council authority to intercept shipments. The family subsequently expanded into refining. Motor Oil’s refinery at Agioi Theodoroi, near Corinth, opened in November 1972. Days later, the group’s tanker Gold Star delivered its first cargo of crude oil, carrying 130,000 tonnes from the Persian Gulf, according to the company’s historical account. After Nikos died in July 1973, Vardis took over the running of the business. The wider family’s shipping interests developed through Avin International, established in 1977. The company says it manages more than 35 oil and chemical tankers, with a combined capacity exceeding 2.5 million tonnes. Among its more recent vessels is Kriti Future, delivered in 2022 and described by classification society ABS as the world’s first ammonia-fuel-ready vessel. Built to allow a future conversion to ammonia, the tanker entered service using conventional fuel. It was through Panathinaikos, however, that Giorgos became a household name. He assumed the presidency in 1979, when the family acquired a majority stake in the newly incorporated football company as Greece introduced professional football. Under his leadership, the club opened its Paiania training ground and signed players including Dimitris Saravakos, Velimir Zajec, Juan Ramon Rocha and Krzysztof Warzycha. Panathinaikos reached the European Cup semi-finals against Liverpool in 1985 and the Champions League semi-finals against Ajax in 1996. Vardinogiannis stood down in May 2000. His football dealings also extended to Cyprus, notably through the signing of Omonia midfielder Costas Malekkos in January 1997. Recalling the move in an interview with Cypriot radio station, Malekkos said he had agreed to join Iraklis and was passing through Athens when Panathinaikos intervened. He met Vardinogiannis and signed for the club, spending six months there before returning to Cyprus. Vardinogiannis had three children with Agapi Politi, Pavlos, Nikos and Chrysi. His daughter married Nikolaos, son of Greece’s late former King Constantine II, in Athens in February 2025.