Our story began in 1913, Constantinople, when two young Greek naval officers, Konstantinos Tsakiroglou and Stavros Pavlidis started a humble commercial operation shipping coffee and silk from North Africa to Black Sea ports and the South of France.

Having gained training and experience in the maritime sector, and in international trade relations, the two young officers were ideally prepared to realize the opportunities that awaited them in shipping commodities.

Anastasios Tsakiroglou took over the business from his father in late 1939. He moved the base of operations to Athens, Greece and continued the company’s upward growth trajectory, trading mainly through Alexandria, Egypt.

He did this until the 1980’s when he retired to concentrate on philanthropic and charitable endeavors. Anna Tsakiroglou then took the reins and went on to lead the company steadily until 1993.

Following three generations of family tradition, Konstaninos.A.Tsakiroglou, graduated from SSE Military Academy in Greece and then took over the family business. Much like his father and grandfather before him, he decided to move the company headquarters and steer the business in a new direction.

In May 2002, via a special resolution, the company’s name was changed to Europa Shipping SA with operations  headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa. 

Europa Shipping has since consolidated its position and developed a strong base in oil trading, shipping and energy solutions both in the region and globally.