TWO long-standing Greek shipbroking houses have announced they are joining forces at the end of a landmark year for both companies.

The move sees Intermodal Shipbrokers, which turns 40 this year, absorb Golden Destiny, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2024.

Intermodal is one of the few Greek shipbroking outfits with a presence overseas.

As well as its headquarters in Athens, it has offices in Shanghai and Singapore.

It is not the first time Intermodal has grown through a merger. It took the N. Cotzias Shipping Group, then Greece’s oldest shipbroking house, under its umbrella back in 2011.

Both Intermodal and Golden Destiny are best known for their focus on sale and purchase activities, although Intermodal already has desks for newbuildings, tanker chartering, demolition, projects and offshore.

Intermodal, now led by George Dermatis, son of chairman and founder Kyriakos Dermatis, said in a statement that Golden Destiny was “a trusted and respected name in the maritime service industry, synonymous with reliability and integrity” in the sector.

“This transition allows us to carry forward their history and expertise in a respectful and thoughtful manner, while ensuring business continuity for Golden Destiny's valued clients and employees,” it stated.

The company’s core values would remain the same, it underlined.

“This is a natural evolution of our path, and we are proud to be the custodians of such a rich heritage while forging ahead with our own.”

Meanwhile, Golden Destiny founder Michail Kokkinis told friends and clients that the firm had found “a trusted partner with similar values, operations and heritage as our own”.

The move aimed to maintain, strengthen and improve on the level of the company’s service without compromising values and ethics, he said.

“This collaboration is beyond an operational consolidation, as like-minded seasoned professionals with a great depth of know-how and network are joining forces to improve on the level of service, adapting to the changes in the industry as dictated by the market forces,” he added.

Kokkinis reflected on Golden Destiny’s record of “negotiating hundreds of ship sales and purchase transactions” and had proved a trusted partner to “several entrepreneurs and investors” entering shipping who became prominent shipowners.

The firm had also been an important school in training many brokers now working in several top broking firms.

The merger took effect immediately with Kokkinis and his team moving to Intermodal’s offices and providing Intermodal contact details.

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