Costamare
Costamare is a Greek-founded international shipowner and charterer specializing in containerships.
Last updated August 26, 2026
AI crawler reads
4requests
1companies- Anthropic4
- Profile
- 2
- Controversies
- 2
- JSON · MD
- 0
- First read
- Nov 4, 2026
- Latest read
- Nov 4, 2026
From this site's server log
Overview
Costamare is a Greek-founded maritime company that owns and charters containerships to international liner operators. The business traces its origins to 1975, when Captain Vasileios Constantakopoulos established Costamare Shipping Company S.A. to manage vessels owned directly or indirectly by his family and acquired an initial 2,000-ton cargo vessel. The company later developed a specialized focus on container shipping, becoming one of the established independent owners in the sector. Costamare entered containership ownership and management in 1984 with the purchase of four vessels of approximately 1,000 TEU capacity. During the following decade it expanded into larger and younger ships, including vessels of approximately 965 TEU and two 2,500-TEU ships formerly associated with US Lines. In 1994, it ordered its first newbuildings: three 3,500-TEU containerships from Samsung Heavy Industries. The company continued moving toward larger vessel classes, ordering five 6,500-TEU post-panamax ships in 1998 and five much larger vessels from Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2003. Those Hyundai ships were subsequently delivered at approximately 9,500 TEU and entered long-term charters with Cosco Container Lines. Leadership passed from the founder to his son, Konstantinos Constantakopoulos, in 1998. Under the younger Constantakopoulos, Costamare broadened its operating infrastructure. CIEL Shipmanagement S.A. was established in 2001 as an independent ship-management company, Shanghai Costamare Ship Management Co., Ltd. was formed in 2005, and C-Man Maritime Inc. began operating in the Philippines in 2006 as a manning and training affiliate. The company also participated in maritime environmental initiatives, including a 2008 collaboration with Germanischer Lloyd involving an early carbon-emissions-indexing tool for ships in its fleet. Costamare completed an initial public offering in the United States in 2010, issuing approximately 13.3 million shares and raising about US$159.6 million according to the cited reference material. The listing provided capital for fleet expansion, while the company continued pursuing a counter-cyclical acquisition and newbuilding strategy. In 2011 it took delivery of nine second-hand vessels and contracted ten newbuildings. Its fleet subsequently grew substantially; the reference material records 74 ships as of October 2018, while the cited Wikipedia description reports a later fleet of 56 containerships with aggregate capacity of approximately 326,000 TEU, including ten vessels on order. Costamare's commercial model centers on placing ships on time charters, principally with geographically diverse and financially strong liner companies. Multi-year charters can provide more predictable cash flow than direct exposure to short-term freight-rate fluctuations, although the company remains exposed to charterer credit, vessel values, financing costs, shipyard execution, regulation, and broader container-shipping cycles. The fleet has included feeder, panamax, post-panamax, and larger cellular containerships. Costamare also has a significant history of owning vessels through special-purpose subsidiaries and using affiliated or contracted management organizations. The company has attracted public attention through the 2011 grounding of the containership MV Rena in New Zealand, a vessel owned through Daina Shipping, a Costamare subsidiary. The incident caused a major oil spill and extensive salvage and cleanup work, followed by criminal and maritime proceedings against the vessel's master and navigation officer. Costamare remains an active international shipowner and charterer headquartered in Athens, with its corporate identity closely associated with Greek maritime ownership, containership investment, and long-term chartering.
History
Costamare's history begins in 1975, when Greek captain Vasileios Constantakopoulos established Costamare Shipping Company S.A. as the management platform for vessels owned by the Constantakopoulos family. He also acquired a 2,000-ton cargo ship, providing the initial operating base for the family shipping business. The company name subsequently became associated with ship ownership, vessel management, and the development of a specialized containership fleet. A decisive shift occurred in 1984, when Costamare purchased four containerships of approximately 1,000 TEU. The company expanded rapidly during the second half of the 1980s, acquiring six vessels of roughly 965 TEU and two 2,500-TEU containerships formerly owned by US Lines. This expansion established Costamare as an independent owner operating across several container-vessel sizes rather than only a small feeder segment. In 1994, Costamare ordered its first newbuildings: three 3,500-TEU ships from Samsung Heavy Industries, scheduled for delivery in 1996. The orders brought the fleet to 32 cellular ships and demonstrated a long-term commitment to modern tonnage. In 1997, the founders and the management organization moved into a purpose-built headquarters in Athens. The following year, the company ordered five 6,500-TEU post-panamax vessels, described in the reference material as the largest ships then being built in South Korea and the first post-panamax ships ordered by an independent containership owner. That year, Konstantinos Constantakopoulos succeeded his father as chief executive of Costamare Management. The business continued investing in fleet scale and management capability. CIEL Shipmanagement S.A. was launched in 2001 as an independent ship-management company. In 2003, Costamare ordered five ships initially designed at more than 8,000 TEU from Hyundai Heavy Industries; their designs were later expanded to approximately 9,500 TEU. Delivered in 2006, the vessels were among the largest containerships afloat at that time and entered 12-year charters with Cosco Container Lines. Shanghai Costamare Ship Management Co., Ltd. was established in 2005, followed in 2006 by C-Man Maritime Inc. in the Philippines, which served as a dedicated manning and training affiliate. Costamare also participated in technical and environmental innovation. In 2008, five vessels were used in cooperation with Germanischer Lloyd to pioneer a carbon-emissions-indexing tool. The project was intended to support compliance with emerging international greenhouse-gas efficiency guidelines. In 2010, the company took delivery of MSC Navarino, an approximately 8,350-TEU newbuilding constructed by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding in China. The company entered the public markets in 2010 through a US$159.6 million initial public offering, issuing approximately 13.3 million shares. Public-market access supported an expansion strategy that included both second-hand acquisitions and newbuildings. In 2011, Costamare took delivery of nine second-hand vessels and contracted ten newbuildings. Fleet size grew from 21 ships in 2000 to 53 in 2008 and 43 in 2010; the supplied reference material later records 74 ships in October 2018 and a subsequent description of 56 containerships with approximately 326,000 TEU of capacity, including ten ships on order. Costamare's business model has generally emphasized time-chartering vessels to a geographically diversified group of financially strong liner companies. Multi-year charter contracts reduce direct exposure to seasonal freight-market movements, though the company remains sensitive to charter expirations, charterer credit quality, vessel prices, interest rates, operating costs, and changes in environmental and maritime regulation. The most prominent adverse event associated with the company was the grounding of MV Rena on Astrolabe Reef near Tauranga, New Zealand, in October 2011. The vessel carried 1,368 containers, approximately 1,700 tonnes of heavy fuel oil, and 200 tonnes of marine diesel. The resulting spill was described as New Zealand's worst environmental disaster of its kind. The master and navigation officer were later convicted on maritime, environmental, and criminal charges, including allegations concerning altered ship documents. Daina Shipping, a Costamare subsidiary identified as the owner, was reported to have incurred approximately NZ$235 million in salvage and cleanup expenditure. Despite the incident, Costamare's principal corporate activity continued to be the ownership, chartering, and management of containerships.
- 2011
Fleet expansion and Rena grounding
[1]The company delivered nine second-hand vessels and contracted ten newbuildings; the Costamare-associated MV Rena later grounded in New Zealand.
- 2010
US initial public offering
[1]Costamare completed its initial public offering and issued approximately 13.3 million shares.
- 2008
Carbon-indexing project
[1]Five Costamare vessels participated in a Germanischer Lloyd project involving carbon-emissions indexing.
- 2006
Large Hyundai vessels delivered
[1]Five large Hyundai-built containerships entered service and began long-term charters with Cosco Container Lines.
- 2001
CIEL Shipmanagement launched
[1]Costamare created CIEL Shipmanagement S.A. as an independent ship-management organization.
- 1998
Post-panamax expansion and leadership transition
[1]The company ordered five 6,500-TEU post-panamax vessels, while Konstantinos Constantakopoulos succeeded his father as chief executive.
- 1994
First containership newbuilding orders
[1]Costamare ordered three 3,500-TEU containerships from Samsung Heavy Industries.
- 1984
Entry into containership ownership
[1]The company purchased four containerships of approximately 1,000 TEU, beginning its focused expansion in container shipping.
- 1975
Costamare established
[1]Captain Vasileios Constantakopoulos founded Costamare Shipping Company S.A. to manage vessels associated with the Constantakopoulos family and acquired an initial cargo vessel.
Products and positioning
An independent Greek maritime owner and charterer focused on containerships, long-term charter coverage, fleet growth, and service to major global liner companies.
Maritime asset ownership · 1984
Containership fleet
Costamare's principal offering is access to container transportation capacity through owned cellular containerships. The historical fleet has ranged from small feeder and panamax ships to post-panamax and larger vessels, including newbuildings above 8,000 TEU. The ships are generally placed with liner companies under time-charter arrangements rather than marketed directly to cargo shippers.
Ship chartering
Time-chartered containership capacity
Costamare charters its vessels to international liner operators, commonly through multi-year time-charter contracts. This structure gives customers dedicated vessel capacity and gives the owner contracted revenue visibility for the charter period. The company's stated strategy has been to work with geographically diverse, financially strong, and established liner companies.
Maritime services · 1975
Ship-management services
Through Costamare Management, CIEL Shipmanagement, Shanghai Costamare Ship Management, and related affiliates, the group has developed technical, operational, crewing, and training capabilities supporting its vessel portfolio.
Controversies
2011
MV Rena grounding and oil spill
MV Rena grounded on Astrolabe Reef near Tauranga, New Zealand, releasing oil and creating a large-scale salvage and environmental response. The vessel was owned through Daina Shipping, a Costamare subsidiary. The master and navigation officer were subsequently convicted on charges relating to dangerous operation, environmental contamination, and alteration of ship documents.
Marketing campaigns
- 2008Carbon-emissions-indexing initiative
International shipping
Costamare worked with Germanischer Lloyd on an emissions-indexing tool involving five vessels, positioning the fleet to address emerging international carbon-efficiency requirements.
Outcome. The participating vessels were described as early full adopters of the applicable CO2-indexing guidelines.
Brand decisions
2011
Counter-cyclical fleet expansionStrategyBackground
The company pursued fleet growth through a combination of second-hand purchases and newbuilding commitments.
Action taken
Costamare took delivery of nine second-hand vessels and contracted ten newbuildings.
Aftermath
The program increased the scale and future capacity of the containership fleet.
2010
Public-market listing to fund fleet growthStrategyBackground
Costamare sought additional capital to expand its containership portfolio through acquisitions and newbuilding commitments.
Action taken
The company completed a US initial public offering, issuing approximately 13.3 million shares and raising about US$159.6 million according to the supplied reference material.
Aftermath
The capital supported continued fleet expansion, including second-hand vessel deliveries and newbuilding contracts in 2011.
Initial public offering proceeds. Approximately US$159.6 million raised (2010 IPO)
Recent events
- Unconfirmed
Costamare announces acquisition of seven dry bulk vessels[2]
Costamare announced that it had taken delivery of one dry bulk vessel and agreed to acquire six additional secondhand dry bulk vessels.
- Unconfirmed
Costamare announces new containership contracts and charters[2]
Costamare announced shipbuilding contracts for two containerships, exercised options for six additional newbuilds, and said all eight newbuild vessels would begin long-term charters upon delivery.
Sources2 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/costamare · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled