Chris Marine

What Chris Marine does

Chris Marine SA is a privately held maritime brokerage firm founded in 1986 by Christos Papatheodorou and headquartered in Voula, Athens, Greece. The company operates across five core service lines: offshore vessel sale and purchase brokerage, newbuilding contracting, drydockings/conversions and repairs brokerage, shipyard coordination, and ship demolition and recycling intermediation. Its primary customer base is Greek shipowners, with secondary exposure to offshore oil & gas and offshore construction buyers seeking specialized vessels and shipowners seeking demolition services.

The firm's revenue model is entirely transaction-based, earning commissions on the sale, purchase, newbuilding, repair, and demolition transactions it intermediates between shipowners, shipyards, and buyers. Chris Marine is differentiated by decades of personal relationships with major and mid-size shipyards (notably in China, where it pioneered Greek owner access in 1986-1987, and in Japan and Sri Lanka), a daily-updated proprietary database of offshore vessels, and on-the-ground technical staff including naval architects and interpreters stationed in Shanghai. The firm operates from seven offices across Athens, Shanghai, Tokyo, Beijing, Singapore, Dubai, London, and New York, serving clients globally with a 1-10 employee headcount under family ownership.

The underlying technology stack is conventional for a relationship brokerage: a maintained offshore vessel database, direct email-based client servicing by service line (offshore, sales, repairs, demolition), and personal negotiation rather than a digital platform. There is no disclosed AI/ML, API, SDK, or app product; the moat rests on reputation, family-driven expertise, shipyard relationships built since 1986, and over 1,500 drydockings arranged historically, rather than on proprietary technology. The firm holds memberships in the Hellenic Shipbrokers Association and the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, and has received government recognition from China (2000) and Sri Lanka (1992).

Name

Chris Marine

Legal name

Chris Marine SA

Website

https://chrismarine.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Chris Marine is a privately held Greek maritime brokerage founded in 1986, intermediating offshore vessel sale and purchase, newbuilding contracting, drydocking and repair, and demolition transactions between shipowners and shipyards across seven global offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Shipbrokerage Services

NAICS

Ship Building and Repairing (336611)

SIC

Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731), Ship & Boat Building & Repairing (3730)

akta.pro primary industry

Marine Service Provider Coordination (Diving, Inspection, Class/Survey Support) (TLAHAJAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Engine & Mechanical Overhaul (Main/Aux Engines, Pumps, Valves, Compressors) (TLAHAMAD)

Keywords

• Shipbrokerage services
• Vessel sale purchase
• Newbuilding contracting
• Drydocking repairs
• Ship demolition brokerage

Headquarters

HQ city

Voúla

HQ country

Greece

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Shipbrokerage Commissions: Chris Marine generates revenue through commissions on sale and purchase transactions of offshore and commercial vessels. The company acts as an intermediary between buyers and sellers, earning fees on completed transactions.
2. Newbuilding Contracting Services: Revenue from assisting clients in finding suitable shipyards for newbuilding projects, providing supervision services, and facilitating newbuilding contracts between clients and shipyards.
3. Drydocking and Repair Brokerage: Earnings from arranging and managing drydockings, conversions, and repairs for vessels at shipyards worldwide. Chris Marine serves as broker between shipowners and shipyards.
4. Demolition Services: Revenue from facilitating ship demolition and recycling transactions, working with demo buyers in Far East, Indian Subcontinent, and Europe.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Chris Marine is a maritime shipbrokerage firm that intermediates offshore vessel sale-and-purchase transactions, contracts newbuilding projects between shipowners and international shipyards, arranges worldwide drydockings, conversions and repairs, and facilitates ship demolition and recycling. The company serves as a broker/agent for shipowners, shipyards and management companies, earning commissions on completed transactions rather than selling its own physical products.

Product overview

Chris Marine is a shipbrokerage company offering a comprehensive suite of maritime transaction services. Founded in 1986, the company operates five interconnected core offerings: Offshore Sale and Purchase Shipbrokerage (specializing in offshore vessels serving the Oil-Gas and Offshore Construction industry), Newbuilding Contracting (for commercial and offshore vessels with major and middle-size international shipyards), Drydockings, Conversions and Repairs (with pioneering expertise in arranging ship repairs in China since 1986), Shipyards coordination, and Demolition (ship recycling with buyers globally). The company serves clients worldwide from offices in Athens (headquarters), Tokyo, Beijing, Singapore, Dubai, London, and New York.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Offshore Sale and Purchase Shipbrokerage

Quantifiable outcome

• Arranged over 1,500 drydockings since 1986
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• Onomichi Dockyard Co. Ltd (Japan)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 December 1992Joint collaboration established between Mr. Christos Papatheodorou and Onomichi Dockyard Co. Ltd of Japan for developing and promoting Sri Lankan shipping industry. The collaboration was recognized by the Sri Lanka Government and celebrated at 20-year anniversary in 2013.
• Demo Buyers (Far East, Indian Subcontinent, Europe)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorClose cooperation with Demo Buyers in Far East, Indian Subcontinent, and Europe who have been actively involved for many years in buying ships for demolition. Ship recycling has been the core business of these principals who buy vessels on 'as is where is' and 'delivered' basis.
• Colombo Dockyard PlcmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChris Marine facilitated the joint collaboration between Colombo Dockyard Plc and Onomichi Dockyard Co. Ltd of Japan. Mr. Kimon Papatheodorou participated in the 20th anniversary celebration of this collaboration in 2013.
• Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard (China)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChris Marine opened the Chinese ship repair market by arranging the first drydocking of a Greek vessel 'MV CHAR M' at Guangzhou Wenchong shipyard in November 1986. This established a long-term working relationship.
• Shanghai Shipyard (China)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChris Marine arranged the repairs of the first Greek vessel in Shanghai in 1987 by placing the drydocking order of 'MV ALGA' with Shanghai Shipyard. This partnership established Chris Marine's presence in the Shanghai ship repair market.
• Qingdao Beihai Shipyard (China)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChris Marine's Managing Director was present at the inauguration of the new floating dock of Qingdao Beihai Shipyard, indicating a long-standing partnership relationship.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Howe Robinson Partners: London-based shipbroker providing sale & purchase, newbuilding, and chartering services. A traditional full-service shipbroker with a similar transaction-brokerage model to Chris Marine.
• Barry Rogliano Salles (BRS): French-headquartered international shipbroker covering sale & purchase, newbuilding, and demolition. Closely comparable to Chris Marine across the brokerage stack, particularly in newbuilding and demolition coordination.
• Braemar Shipping Services (Braemar PLC): London-based shipbroker covering sale & purchase, newbuilding, chartering, and offshore. Closely comparable business model and service mix to Chris Marine, including offshore S&P and shipyard liaison, though materially larger.
• Gibson Shipbrokers: UK-based shipbroker active in sale & purchase of tankers and offshore vessels, newbuilding, and chartering. Comparable as a specialized shipbroker with offshore S&P capability similar to Chris Marine's offshore franchise.
• Galbraith's: UK-based shipbroker covering tanker and bulker sale & purchase. A specialized, traditional shipbroker with a comparable transaction-based brokerage model to Chris Marine's S&P business.
• Maersk Broker: Danish shipbroker and shipping services firm active in sale & purchase, newbuilding, chartering, and offshore. Comparable transactional brokerage model, with stronger corporate backing through the Maersk group.
• Eastmed Shipbrokers: Piraeus-based Greek shipbroker serving Greek shipowners across sale & purchase, newbuilding, and chartering. Directly comparable as a Greek-focused shipbroker with similar customer base and service lines to Chris Marine.

Broad incumbents

• Clarkson PLC (Clarksons): World's largest shipbroker and shipping services group, listed on the LSE. Directly comparable as a sale & purchase, newbuilding, and offshore vessel broker, but operates at vastly greater scale with integrated research, financial, and technology services.
• SSY (Simpson Spence Young): Global shipbroker now operating under the Clarksons group, providing sale & purchase, chartering, and research services. Comparable as a sale & purchase and newbuilding broker, with materially greater scale and platform integration.

Emerging players

• Optima Shipbrokers: Greek-focused shipbroker covering sale & purchase and newbuilding for Greek owners. Comparable customer overlap with Chris Marine and similar transaction-brokerage model, but operates as a younger, more specialized entrant.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chris-marine-sa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Chris Marine