The extraordinary general meeting of shareholders of Astilleros Canarios — the Gran Canaria company and subsidiary of the Laskadiris group — approved on June 5, 2026 a reform of its articles of association to formally include the purchase, operation, construction and leasing of vessels within its principal corporate purpose. The move aligns its operating capabilities with the global commercial activity of its international parent, the Greek maritime conglomerate controlled by the Laskaridis family.
The resolution, endorsed by the 99.37% favorable vote of the share capital present at the meeting, represents the most significant expansion of the company’s commercial powers in the past decade. The formal agreement, signed on August 5 by Germán Carlos Suárez on behalf of the single-member company Invencible Capital, was made public through its filing with the Las Palmas Mercantile Registry. In trade circles, Suárez is referred to as chairman when he is sole director.
The modification to Article Three of the by-laws legally enables the island-based entity to intervene without intermediaries in the international shipping market, a niche traditionally dominated from Athens by the Greek shipowning structure. The change also includes the management of port terminals.
Until now, the shipyard’s operations at the Port of Las Palmas had focused mainly on repairs, conversions and maintenance of vessels, offshore structures and metal constructions. The new wording introduces a range of financial and commercial competencies that include design, marketing, brokering and renting any type of vessel, as well as the possibility to arrange, establish, modify and accept security rights over naval assets. With this change, the Canary subsidiary moves beyond the technical scope of shipyard dry-docking to take on capacity to act as shipowner, lessor or transaction agent in major corporate operations.
The Greek holding company manages, through brands, one of the largest fleets of refrigerated vessels (reefers) and bulk carriers in the world. By granting Astican the legal authority to acquire, operate, charter and finance ships, the ownership gives the island subsidiary instrumental flexibility aimed at managing naval assets directly from the archipelago, taking advantage of tax advantages. The company is no longer solely a fleet repair and maintenance hub, becoming instead an integrated nautical services and naval asset management node on the international maritime map.
The entry “Laskaridis moves into the ship buying, chartering and brokering market in the Canary Islands” was first published on canarymaritime.com.
