Our firm was honored with the “Lloyd’s list Shipbroker of the year 2011” award. We prefer to let others talk about us…
Here is the article from the 2011 Greek Shipping Awards winners magazine:
In the shipbroker of the year category, the panel enthusiastically embraced the candidature of Hellaschart, one of a minority of successful shipbrokerages worldwide founded and run by women.
All the more creditworthy in the judges’ eyes was the difficulty of trades in which Hellaschart established its name and the high quality of service to which clients testified.
The firm was launched by Liona Bachas in 2000 and in the early years it could claim to be manned entirely by two women, the other broker being Isidora N. Theotoka.
Initially the company specialized in Israeli-linked shipping business, both in the dry bulk sector where it chartered in vessels for fertilizer producer Dead Sea Works and others, and the container sector.
Hellaschart distinguished itself as one of the few shipbroking offices in Greece specializing in representing and acting as charterers’ brokers for first class companies. To cite one case, it has long been a panel broker for Minfreight Corporation, regularly involved in shipments of grain from the US Gulf and fertilizers from Casablanca to the US.
The company has been credited with playing a pivotal role in enhancing the relationship between Greek and Israeli shipping interests.
Cautious expansion in recent years has seen the addition of broker Thanasis Zafeiratos,enhancing the firm’s ability to do more competitive chartering for owners as well as serving more charterers.
Building on its past experience in the box trades, in 2010 and 2011, Hellaschart was also able to expand its container vessel chartering activities after correctly anticipating Greece based owners would emerge as buyers in the sector.
One client’s nomination praised the company’s ethic of hard work, dedication, follow-up service and integrity, concluding “they are brokers that you can count on”.
Accepting the award Ms Bachas said: “Although we are still a small office, we are very proud to find ourselves on a par with larger shipbroking firms who have also been honored with this award in the past which proves that, when providing a service, the personal touch of a smaller organization, can make the difference.”
Nigel Lowry, Lloyd’s List