HISTORY / COMPANY / UNION COMMERCIAL
Union Commercial Incorporated evolved from Union Commercial Steamship Company which was established in 1960 by Mark Scufalos (born: 1930; dec'd: 2000). Mark Scufalos thought that Greece, with its concentration of shipowning principals and its proximity to the strategic Suez Canal and the Middle East markets, offered unique opportunities for development and so pioneered operations from Piraeus at a time when New York and London were the preferred marine centres. The validity of his thinking still holds.
As Union Commercial Steamship's fleet grew, so did its expertise in all matters relating to the management of vessels including that of marine insurance.
What began as an internal necessity rapidly developed into a consultancy service for other Owners and in 1969, recognizing that the appropriate specialist skills were still in short supply in Greece, Union Commercial International Ltd. was established in London to handle various technical and insurance matters. This venture proved to be quite successful and within a short time Union Commercial International was handling the insurance requirements of over 120 ships owned by independent shipowners.
Concurrently with the above, Union Commercial's managed fleet grew to include 40 vessels of all types: conventional cargo ships, car carriers, bulk carriers, refrigerator ships, oil tankers and container ships.
Meantime its London affiliate was able to market a range of expanded services on it's behalf. These services included acting as a liaison with financial institutions serving the shipping industry, locating and ordering ship machinery and spare parts as well as stemming bunkers and lubricants.
The Group's activities were further expanded when another affiliate, Container and Cargo Services International Inc. was created. This company specialized in all aspects of intermodal transportation, including the design and chartering of container vessels and consultancy services covering every facet of container operations ashore and afloat.
