Born in 1926 in Glyfada, a coastal suburb of Athens, Martinou began her career working at her father’s law firm. In 1971, she transitioned into shipping, overseeing the management of her family’s fleet. Together with her sons, Thanasis, Dinos, and Andreas, she founded Thenamaris Ships Management, a company that would go on to become a cornerstone of the Greek shipping industry.
In 1990 Thanasis Martinos left to establish Eastern Mediterranean Maritime, while Andreas founded Minerva Maritime in 1998. Today, the family’s shipping legacy continues with Andreas junior, Andreas’ son, now leading Minerva, and Nikolas Martinos, Dinos’ son, heading Thenamaris.
In a 2021 documentary on shipowners, Martinou spoke fondly of her lifelong passion for the sea, attributing it to her upbringing in Glyfada. “I am a Cephalonian, but being born in Glyfada, watching the ships pass by, I told my friends, ‘We will build barges,’ and we did. The whole family became obsessed with it, and we succeeded,” she recalled.
A private funeral service will be held at the Church of Panagia Faneromeni in Vouliagmeni on Monday at 1 p.m.