BIOGRAPHY OF CAPT. EVANGELOS RIGOS
Credentials
- Certificate of Master Mariner for Unlimited Tonnage Ships
- Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Class of 1978, Pace University, NY
Family History
My roots are deeply embedded in the marble-bearing hills of Ysternia, Tinos. My grandfather, following the centuries-old tradition of his ancestors, completed his primary and secondary education before being ordained into the priesthood at the Patriarchate of Alexandria. He was then sent to Vassileonoiko, Chios, where he served as a priest, ministering to the spiritual needs of his parishioners. My father, born in this environment, was destined to become a servant of Themis—a judge.
My maternal grandfather, George Garyfallakis, served as a customs officer in Smyrna. In 1915, he was taken by the Turks, forced into labor battalions, and sent to the interior to work on road construction, never to be seen again. My grandmother, a graduate of the Evangelical School of Smyrna, fled the city with her four children on September 9, 1922. She found refuge in Podarades, now known as Nea Ionia, where she became a teacher at the First Elementary School, established by the Greek government to continue the education of refugee children.
Early Life
Due to my father’s profession, I was raised in six different cities: Athens, Petromagoula, Kiato, Plomari, Megara, and Corinth. At the age of six, I joined the Sea Scouts and progressed through all the ranks. By 1960, I had become Assistant Commissioner under Admiral Zepos, the General Sea Scout Commissioner, at the Geniki Eforia Proskopon. Among my responsibilities was the national training of Sea Scout Leaders.
Military Service
I served as an officer in the Greek Royal Navy for 36 months.
Professional Career
At 18, I began my maritime career, sailing on dry cargo, tanker, and passenger ships. Over the next 15 years, I traveled the world, eventually becoming a Master Mariner for unlimited tonnage ships.
In 1969, I immigrated to the United States. After a short period in New York, I joined the chartering department of Standard Oil of Indiana (Amoco) in Chicago. My role involved chartering tankers to transport millions of tons of crude oil from the Persian Gulf, Mediterranean, and Venezuela to the United States. In 1974, I joined a brokerage firm in Manhattan, and in 1979, I established my own company, Rigos Chartering Inc., headquartered at 25 Tudor City, Manhattan, NY. Our primary task was to find the right tankers for major oil companies such as Exxon, Mobil, Texaco, and Amoco. Due to my personal background, RCI specialized in the Greek market. During my time in New York, I completed my studies at Pace University and also served as a Maritime Arbitrator.
In 2001, I returned to my “Ithaca,” settling in Sousaki, Korinthias, where I devoted my time to promoting Hellenism through HEC and IHA.
Computer and Internet Experience
My engagement with computers began in 1979 when I purchased an Apple computer with 2 KB of memory, expandable to 64 KB. Over the next four decades, I witnessed and adapted to the evolution of technology, from early Apple systems to modern iPads with 256 GB of memory.
I became involved with the Internet at its early stages in 1980. At that time, the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) had created a system to connect computers across four military installations. This innovation was soon adopted by universities, leading to the development of email. I was invited to ARPA’s offices in Washington, where I was asked to integrate oil companies into this communication network. Although Mobil initially rejected my request, citing confidentiality concerns, I successfully connected other oil companies. By 2000, Rigos Chartering Inc. had established itself as a leader in the industry, sending daily market reports via the Internet.
In 1982, I launched two online forums—one for maritime discussions and another dedicated to Greek affairs—using a Bulletin Board System (BBS), a precursor to today’s Internet forums.
HEC and IHA
In 1994, the World Wide Web as we know it emerged. By November of that year, I had created one of the first professional Greek websites, www.rigos.com. Unfortunately, in 2014, amidst internal struggles within HEC over election procedures, I forgot to renew the domain, and it was later resold for a significant sum.
That same year, I launched HELLAS & The SEA, an initiative to highlight Greece’s maritime legacy. I invited Thanos Voudouris to collaborate, leading to the creation of POSEIDON (www.greece.org/POSEIDON/). Our efforts took us into uncharted waters, and although we faced challenges, we formally incorporated HEC in Delaware to support our mission.
In 2000, we introduced THEMIS (www.greece.org/THEMIS/), a petition-based project addressing key issues such as the Annan Plan, Macedonia, and the Halki seminary. However, internal conflicts arose, with Thanos Voudouris opposing the project and threatening to dissolve the Executive Committee unless we separated THEMIS from HEC. This led to a significant divide within the organization.
In 2014, Voudouris left HEC, and a group of dedicated individuals, including myself, refused to comply with the altered election procedures. Consequently, the election process was removed from the HEC bylaws, fundamentally changing the organization’s structure.
On November 4, 2015, the International Hellenic Association (IHA) was incorporated in the State of Delaware. By July 15, 2016, the IHA received official recognition from the IRS as a nonprofit organization. The first year of IHA’s operations is documented in its annual report (https://iha-smartislands.org/iha/annual-report-2016/).
The rest is history, well known to the members of IHA.