Giannis Skopelitis, captain who connected Small Cyclades for decades, dies at 68

A seventy-year family legacy

The Skopelitis family connection to the Small Cyclades began in 1956, when Captain Mitsos Skopelitis, a fisherman from Koufonisi, took the small boat "Panormitis" and started linking the tiny islands to Naxos and the outside world. His son Giannis grew up on those decks and assumed command in the 1980s, later becoming the owner of Small Cyclades Lines. For seventy years, three generations of the family have shouldered the task of keeping the islands connected.

The Express Skopelitis: lifeline of the islands

The vessel most associated with the family, the Express Skopelitis, was built in 1986 in Thessaloniki as the Eressos II, originally plying the Mytilene–Ayvalik route for Baïraktaris Shipping. In 1998 the Skopelitis family purchased it and renamed it Express Skopelitis, replacing an older ship. Its regular route covers Naxos, Iraklia, Schinoussa, Koufonisia, Donoussa and Amorgos, with seasonal extensions to Ios and Santorini. Over the decades it has carried food, medicines, students, workers, patients, tourists and urgent freight, often when bad weather made the islands otherwise unreachable.

A captain for all seasons

Giannis Skopelitis earned his reputation not from business successes but from the constancy he showed throughout his life. In periods of bad weather, blockades or emergencies, islanders knew that Captain Yiannis would do everything humanly possible to reach their ports. That bond of trust turned him into a folk hero of the Aegean, well beyond the bounds of a ferry operator.

Tributes and mourning across the Aegean

Greece's Shipping Minister Vasilis Kikilias posted a condolence message describing Skopelitis as the soul of the Small Cyclades.

“There are news items that, when you read them, you feel that something of the Greece you love has been lost. For the residents of the Small Cyclades, Yiannis Skopelitis was not just a captain. He was the one who represented the promise that no island is left alone.”

The Union of Hoteliers and Owners of Rental Rooms of Amorgos expressed its deep sorrow and announced the immediate cancellation of tonight's traditional feast at Katapola, which was to be part of the Amorgos Festival.

“The Union of Hoteliers and Owners of Rental Rooms of Amorgos expresses its deep sorrow for the loss of our beloved fellow citizen, Ioannis Skopelitis. As a sign of mourning and respect for the memory of the deceased and his family, we announce that tonight's feast in Katapola, scheduled as part of the Amorgos Festival, is cancelled.”

What comes next

The funeral service will be held on Sunday, 14 June 2026, at noon. The business continues: the Express Skopelitis is commanded today by captain Giannis Fostieris from Koufonisi, a close collaborator of the family, while the company is managed by the founder's grandson, Dimitris Skopelitis, maintaining the family presence on the Small Cyclades run.