The President of Malta has been pleased to appoint Mrs Athina Martinos Honorary Member of the National Order of Merit in the grade of officer with effect from 13th December 2005.  This investiture ceremony took place today, being Republic Day, at the Palace Valletta.

Mrs Athina Martinos certainly needs no introduction in the maritime world. She is a personality of long standing and has obtained for herself a reputation of an iron lady with a docile heart.  She is very closely linked to the growth and development of the Maltese Shipping Register. As president of a major and reputable ship management company, the Thenamaris Group of Greece, Mrs Martinos was among the first of the primary international ship owners to express and indeed to tangibly show confidence in the still emerging Malta Shipping Register and to remain loyal for all these years. She has founded Thenamaris Ships Management Inc more than forty years ago and is still hands on till this very day, going to the office on a regular basis.

As a young girl she grew up on the seafront and her love for the sea was evident since her childhood when she used to navigate her own small boat named “Nounou”.  After her marriage she urged the Martinos family to invest in shipping and a first ship was purchased in 1963 while Thenamaris was formed after acquiring a further two vessels to manage the fleet which grew to be one of the largest fleets.

In the mid-1990’s Mrs Martinos transferred control of her family’s business to her three sons Dinos, Thanassis and Andreas who run three large and reputable management companies namely, Thenamaris, Eastern Mediterranean and Minerva respectively.

Malta’s association with Mrs Martinos started way back in 1978, when, with the assistance of GM International Services Limited’s chairman, Mr John A. Gauci-Maistre, she registered the first ship in Malta, under Thenamaris management, the “Elmare” precisely on 23rd December 1978.

Thenamaris being market leaders, were followed by other management companies and shipowners who, despite the Merchant Shipping Act 1973 then requiring fine tuning, chose the Malta flag for their ships.  Today, the Malta flag enjoys a very good reputation and is looked upon favourably by all the majors of the industry including bankers and maritime lawyers amongst others.

GM International Services Limited is proud to be fully associated with Mrs Martinos and her family until this very day.