Twenty years after General Maritime, Peter Georgiopoulos takes a different view on public markets

Peter Georgiopoulos last knew life as a fully private shipowner in early 2001 as he put the finishing touches on an initial public offering for his first public company, General Maritime.

Georgiopoulos squeezed through a narrow initial public offering “window” for shipping in that June, with a $144m flotation on a fleet of 29 crude tankers — and there was no looking back.