Royal Olympic Cruise Lines Shift Share Ownership of ROC Holdings
Royal Olympic Cruise Lines Inc announced that Silk Navigation had acquired an additional 20 percent of ROC Holdings Inc. from Louis Tourist Agency. As a result, Silk and Louis each now hold 50 percent of ROC Holdings, which in turn holds 51.4% of Royal Olympic's common stock. Silk Navigation is controlled by members of the Potamianos family, with Andreas Potamianos holding the position as Royal Olympic's Co-Deputy Chairman and Louis Tourist Agency is controlled by Costakis Loizou, also Co-Deputy Chairman. In addition, Royal Olympic announced that it had agreed with Louis Tourist Agency to modify the terms of the $20 million convertible subordinated note issued by Royal Olympic on February 28, 2001 and held by Louis Tourist Agency.
Olympia Explorer Christened in Piraeus
Royal Olympic Cruise Lines Inc. announced that its new cruise ship, Olympia Explorer, was christened at the Port of Piraeus on Friday, June 7, 2002. Vangelis Papathanassiou, the internationally renowned composer and 1982 Oscar winner for his film score for "Chariots of Fire," was the vessel's godfather, assisted by Katerina Potamianos and Marisa Loizou, the daughters of Andreas Potamianos and Costakis Loizou, Royal Olympic's two main shareholders. After the christening ceremony, music from Vangelis' score for the film "1492" was played. Olympia Explorer, like her sister ship, Olympia Voyager, was built at the Blohm+Voss shipyard in Hamburg and with cruising speeds of up to 30 knots, she is the fastest cruise ship, of her size, in the world.
