Italian shipowner Gianfranco Messina has died at the age of 82.

Messina was for many years the head of the Genoa-based shipping company named after his father Ignazio Messina.

In 2013, he and his brother Paolo handed the managerial reins to a third generation of the family led by Ignazio and Stefano Messina and Andrea Gais .

The funeral will be held in Genoa tomorrow.