He used the ceremony at which he was awarded an honorary doctorate as an opportunity to speak some sage words.

“Listen to the demands of [the] times, seize challenges and be ready to adapt to new conditions which are constantly changing. Believe in yourself, assert yourself, develop and create something of your own: these are the keys to success,” he advised the graduates.

Reams of paper have been devoted to the life, businesses and views of Captain Panagiotis, yet few would dare to challenge his opinion or modus operandi.

So while son Nikolas launched his career in the public arena, and his late daughter Maria (who tragically died of a heart attack in 2010 at the age of 44) was dedicated to special projects, including the Tsakos group’s huge philanthropy programme, the captain continues to hold a steady, traditional course — as he has done for the past 45 years since establishing Tsakos Shipping and Trading in 1970.

Born in Kardamyla, on the island of Chios, young Panagiotis shouldered responsibility at an early age when his father, an engineer on Allied ships crossing the Atlantic during the war, disappeared for eight years.

His mother, the late Maria, was a bastion of strength but for years never knew if her husband was alive or dead.

Growing up during wartime, not knowing if your father is alive, and taking the role, as elder brother, of the man of the family — well, says the son, “laughter is not one of the main ways you should portray the family”.

Captain Panagiotis had his first seagoing experience at the age of 16 and remembers being grateful to find a bale of hay to curl up on instead of sleeping on the cold deck plates.

After graduating from the Livanos Marine Academy in Chios, he had his master’s certificate in hand by the time he was 26. He served on various ships between 1954 and 1965 with a couple of breaks: one to carry out his military service and another when he spent a year studying chartering and insurance in the UK.

Traditional he may be in many ways, but Panagiotis Tsakos has never been afraid to adapt to changes in the business and the needs of the market.

While general opinion, backed up by what his son tells TradeWinds, would indicate that Panagiotis is pretty cautious, the captain himself wryly commented last year: “Nikos, as you will have realised, is more conservative than I am.”

Among the many honours Captain Panagiotis has received was last year’s commodore of the Connecticut Maritime Association. Although he was not able to attend the gala, his young grandson Panagiotis received the award on his behalf.

The family’s investments do not just involve shipping. They have interests in winemaking and agro-industry in Uruguay, where they also own a shipyard and run the cultural organisation Fundacion Maria Tsakos in Montevideo, named after his mother.

The Maria Tsakos Foundation, named after his late daughter, was established in Chios and includes Maria’s Home, set up in 2010 to provide board for youngsters attending the Livanos High School in Kardamyla.

Captain Panagiotis has a great deal of time for his crews, and often a group of masters and officers on shore leave can be seen exchanging views with him over lunch in the company’s dining room.

He remains categorically opposed to the phenomenon of OPM (other people’s money). “We are shipowners, and shipowners we shall remain, with our own money — of course in partnership with our banks. But we will not spend our skills and devotion to become operators of tens of vessels belonging to other people and purchased with other people’s money.”