PETER G. Livanos’ legendary father, the late George P. Livanos, is best remembered as an innovator and an environmentalist before climate change was widely acknowledged.

Mr Livanos is also a businessman who keeps the big picture in view and has a long-term outlook.

It was his penchant for looking ahead that caused him to painstakingly establish his first foothold in the liquefied natural gas shipping business — the first Greek owner to do so — by managing two elderly LNG carriers for BG Group.

GasLog, his LNG shipping arm, has since been listed in New York and is now the mainstay of his shipping activities.

GasLog and its subsidiary GasLog Partners own one of the largest fleets in the world — 35 vessels, including 27 directly owned LNG carriers on the water, a further vessel under leaseback from Mitsui & Co and seven newbuildings for delivery in 2020 and 2021.

Recent developments include terminating the company’s involvement in the spot-focused Cool Pool with Golar LNG, where GasLog had six of its 155,000 cu m vessels.

Two of these were immediately chartered for periods of three and a half years and nine months to Gunvor. Another of the previously spot-deployed vessels, GasLog Singapore, will serve a new 10-year floating storage charter in Panama.

The 2010-built vessel will be converted at the time of a five-year special survey drydocking in the third quarter of 2020, ready for the charter to China’s Sinolam commencing in November.

In a sign of its status, GasLog has just appointed Richard Sadler to a new role as its head of sustainability as the company seeks to focus further on sustainability and reporting. The former chief executive of Lloyd’s Register had served two years as GasLog’s chief operating officer.

In recent statements, Mr Livanos has appeared to signal a less bullish chapter of fleet growth for GasLog than was the case in the past.

He believes that newbuilding LNG vessels ordered today could face shorter commercial lives than they may be designed for due to the International Maritime Organization target of at least halving emissions by 2050.

The issue of residual value beyond 2050 arises as LNG carriers generally have longer lifespans than tankers or bulkers.

“The environmental issues going forward are not just going to be a game-changer; they’re going to be a significant game-changer,” he said recently. 

Nonetheless, Mr Livanos still believes that natural gas has a “very important” role to play as the world becomes more environmentally aware, including serving as a transportation fuel.

It is no surprise that he emerged as one of the original backers of the Global Maritime Forum, which is committed to realising shipping’s potential to increase sustainable economic development and “human wellbeing”.

He remains one of a handful of shipowners on its advisory council and has backed 2019’s Poseidon Principles, the initiative by leading shipping banks to align their portfolios with IMO sustainability targets.

Mr Livanos also appeared in the Top 100 in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016,2017 and 2018.