Peter Georgiopoulos opens the door of his London hotel suite and offers a large, firm hand to shake. With a sharp suit, a tan, hair slightly longer than normal for a businessman and his surname, he could easily be mistaken for one of the younger members of a Greek shipping dynasty.

Yet Mr Georgiopoulos, chairman of three New York Stock Exchange-listed shipping companies, is quick to distinguish between himself and the sector's established royalty. He is Greek-American not Greek, has no family background in ship-owning and claims to take a cold, calculating approach to making money. "I don't fall in love with these things," he says of his companies' ships.