Nikolas D Pateras made his name as an asset player.

As dry bulk markets peaked in the heady period between 2003 and 2007, his Pacific & Atlantic (P&A) sold 52 bulkers at prices he himself described at the time as “too good to be true”. When the market crashed in 2008, he was long done selling his fleet, comfortably sitting on his money as the financial world collapsed around him.