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MARITIME TRADITIONSOcean linersThe Rise and Fall of GiantsGreek Ocean liners first appeared at the beginning of the 20 th century and became well-knownin the years between World War I and World War II—the period of the mass emigration.The wave of emigration at the beginningof the 20 th century necessitatedocean liners to connectGreece with the Greek communitiesbeing created across the Atlantic.Before the appearance of Greek-ownedvessels, Greek emigrants used foreignshipping companies to travel to NorthAmerica. The ocean liners were irrevocablyconnected with this great but embitteringera, when passengers wereloaded on ships without basic comforts.MoraitisThis venture was undertaken by one ofthe leaders in Greek shipping, DimitriosG. Moraitis (1866–1942). In 1907, thefirst Greek ocean liner began sailingthe Piraeus–New York route. The venturewas extremely difficult to financegiven the state of the economy duringthat period. Moraitis, however, was partof a shipping family from Andros, andthrough his resourcefulness convincedmany financiers and distinguishedmembers of Athenian society to becomeshareholders in what was to become theHellenic Transoceanic Steam NavigationCompany. He ordered two oceanliners from England: the Moraitis,weighing 6,045 gross tons, and theAthinai, weighing 6,742 gross tons.Unfortunately, his attempt to createthe first Greek trans-Atlantic line wasunsuccessful. A year after he began, thecompany went bankrupt. The companywas followed by the Transoceanic GreekSteam Navigation company, backed byMoraitis’ original shareholders. However,this company failed as well.EmpirikosAnother businessman made Moraitis’vision come true. In 1912, the TransoceanicGreek Steam Navigation companywas bought out by the NationalSteam Navigation of Greece, a firm establishedby Leonidas A. Empirikos,whose ocean liner, the Patris, had beentransporting passengers between Piraeusand New York. Soon after, Empirikosadded to his fleet a very modernship, the Macedonia, that took just 12days for the trip—then a record time! TheMacedonia, however, met its end when itsank outside the island of Syros afterbeing bombarded by the Turkish cruiserChamidie during the Balkan wars.The events of the following years createdmany economic hardships forGreece, and many ship-owners plungedinto debt. One successful ocean liner operation,and one among very few in theGreek pre-war era, was the Goulandrisfamily's Greek Line. Its ship, the Nea Ellas,operated between Athens and NewYork until 1939.1945–1970After World War II, the need fortransoceanic liners became more compellingdue to the new wave of emigrationto North America. One of the shipsspecializing in the transoceanic routewas the Atlantic (later renamedVasilissa Frideriki) belonging to theship owner Evgenidis. Together with theOlympia, the Vasilissa Frideriki coveredthe Greek-North American route until1956 with modest success. However,the introduction of airplanes and thedevelopment of tourism in the mid-1960s heralded the beginning of theend for Greek ocean liners. Mostship-owners began gradually withdrawingtheir ships from theAthens–New York route to focus onthe new and promising cruise business.The demand for ocean linersswiftly decreased, as did emigration,which had been the drivingforce of profitability for theseships until the 1950s.Source: A. I. Tzamtzis, GreekOcean Liners (Militos publisher)