Interview of the week - Cosmatos Group - Greece

Elisabeth holds a BSc in Maritime Business and Law from the University of Plymouth,UK and she then took a class in London Guildhall University for MSc in International Shipping and Trade. 

She joined Cosmatos Group in 1998 while  she took over its management in 2005. Through the years, apart of general shipping and port operations knowledge, she has developed considerable experience in project cargo planning and execution, military and windmill logistics.

Elisabeth’s life moto:
You can only reap what you had earlier sown!

Tell us about Cosmatos Group. Who owns the company?

Cosmatos Group consists of four companies: Cosmatos Shipping Services, Fairplay Forwarding, Hub Logistics and Vigor Trading.

Through our Group we offer integrated services in shipping, freight forwarding, logistics, warehousing and trading of raw material in Greece, Cyprus and the Balkan States.

The Group was founded by my father, John Cosmatos, back in 1972 and I have the honor and pleasure to run it for the last fifteen years.

Currently, all four companies comprise members of the Cosmatos family and all of them still remain family owned companies. 

Where are your offices located?

Our offices are located in Thessaloniki, which is situated in the northern part of Greece. Thessaloniki port is the biggest breakbulk port in Greece and its’ strategic location offers a gateway to the Balkans, serving volume to/from Albania, N.Macedonia and Bulgaria. Occasionally and depending on the final destination, Serbia and Kosovo may also be served through Thessaloniki port. 

Despite the great location of our homeport, we offer our services throughout the entire Greek territory, both in the mainland and all the Greek Islands.

Which is Cosmatos Groups’ specialty and service range?

Cosmatos Group offers a vast variety of services starting from shipping agency to port operations, project cargo management / planning / execution, customs formalities, inland transport, ship chartering, airfreight, FCL / LCL, storage, military logistics, DG transport and storage, leisure yachting support services and the list goes on… 

Coming to heavylift expertise, our project cargo department is offering ship chartering, port operations, storage and on carriage for the petrochemical industry, the wind industry, the mining industry, machineries of various types and industrial projects in general. 

The last years, our performance in international road transport of oversized cargo has shown considerable rise within Europe but also to / from the neighboring countries, such as Turkey, Cyprus and the Balkan states. 

It would be safe to say that we serve all freight forwarding needs, starting from something as little as a pallet to a complete factory installation.

Cosmatos Group is the hidden treasure that one seeks when looking for a reliable local agent with a full range expertise!

Tell us about projects that you have handled recently.

Refinery equipment  EKME site Greece to HAOR Azerbaijan

Cosmatos Group has been selected for the transport and port operations of refinery equipment from EKME SA 57008 Thessaloniki Greece till FOB LSD Thessaloniki port. Our scope included: 

Pre carriage, road permits, escorts, port handling in tandem lift using our own lifting equipment, lashing design & method, cargo securing on board including special arrangements for deck cargo. 

Total cargo consisted of three (3) units with dimensions: 

Length x breadth x height – weight 

• 39.00 x 4.70 x 4.20 mtrs – 95T 
• 43.00 x 4.65 x 4.50 mtrs – 98T 
• 39.50 x 3.80 x 3.40 mtrs – 71T 

SGRE Windmills in Northern Greece – 4 sets x G132 T80,40

Cosmatos Group recently completed the offloading, reception at port storage area, backloading and transportation to the site of 4 sets of windmills with blades 65 meters long via Thessaloniki port. 

Apart from the above services, Cosmatos Group arranged: 

Daily toolbox meetings, preparation of cargo safety zones, use of own safety equipment to avoid damages to the cargo, dismantling of lugs & tower feet, cleaning of towers & blades and issuance of road permits. 

All transports were arranged during heavy winter conditions with snow and temperatures below zero. 

The site was located in Northern Greece, 1650 meters above sea level with slops at internal site roads up to 16%. 

A quite challenging operation scheme which was performed and concluded despite the difficult conditions. 

Main units dimensions: 

Are there any tricky points one should consider when planning a project cargo movement in Greece?

Greece is part of the EU since 1981, hence EU customs regulations are common to all European countries. When it comes to ports, terminals and stevedoring unions, there is not much of a choice as they still remain public, therefore, we are obliged most of the times to go along with the custom of the port, which offers no guaranteed load / disch rates or option for berth window, in their big majority. When it comes to general cargo, Greek ports work on a first come first served basis. 

Other than that, despite its size and our 10m population, Greece has a 14,000 km coastline and therefore, offers many port / berthing options with limited infrastructure, except Thessaloniki port which possesses a decent arsenal. 

However, the private sector offers a very good variety of cranes and trucks that accommodate almost every need of the domestic market. 

Most of the times and depending of course on the request, there aren't great delays or extremely difficult procedures for o/g road permits issuance within Greek territory.

What is your advantage against competition? Why do you stand out?

Our strongest asset is that we are a family business to the core. Our executives are treated as family members and that is something you can feel in the air when doing business with us. We all put a piece of our hearts in what we do every day. There are so many parameters that can go wrong in our business, so giving less than 100% would be a risky approach. 

It is vital for us to share the same mentality with the people that man our companies, after all, we spend the biggest part of the day together. We could say that "competent team players which stand as a second family combined with a genuine internal need to perform well" is what differentiates Cosmatos Group from the rest. 

Moreover, being a one-stop provider is also an exclusivity that Cosmatos Group offers to its clients, and that is certainly one of our competitive advantages. We would be quite surprised if a customer asks for something that we have never faced before in the 48 years in the line of duty.

What made you join the industry?

I would say that it was a one-way road for me to choose this profession. Being brought up in a family that has always been around the shipping business, I remember being a small girl spending part of my holidays “working” at the office, even if that would mean to just taking papers from one desk to another. Childhood memories of answering the phone in the evening at home where a strange voice of an international operator would ask for my father as some motor vessel was on the line. In the weekends my father would take me with him to visit ships alongside and I still remember the taste of the juice offered to me by the Captain. 

Through the years, my job became one of the factors that seriously influenced my life, choices and character. The way I see it, it’s a job that you cannot do it well if you don’t find beauty in it.…and to my eyes there is plenty of beauty in our business.

What was the impact that COVID-19 brought to your business?

Many projects that we have been planning / quoting for the last couple of years are still on hold as the business is not yet back to normal, not only in Europe but globally. Moreover, our business development strategy had to pause as traveling became impossible. 

Greece is under the second phase of COVID-19 which seems to have hit much harder than the first one back in March 2020. Compared to other European countries, Greece still remains on medium infection levels, nevertheless, the problem still exists and we have to face lockdown measures for the second time. 

Our Group has developed fast reflexes to the changing needs of our working environment, hence we continue to deliver quality services 365/24 despite the pandemic.

Who should be approached in Cosmatos Group for inquiries?

It is part of our strategy to share a mutual email account so that all members of a department are equally updated for each case at all times. There is no "solist" in our team. Each team player is of equal importance. So, please send your queries to shipping@cosmatosgroup.com and your request will be addressed promptly and efficiently by myself or Kyriakos, Vassilis, Daphne or Billy.

We are here to serve!