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Super Eco Tankers: New investments and partnerships

Super Eco Tankers Management is one very few Greek shipping firms to still be ordering new tonnage. It chose to sign two orders for four new tankers in the last seven months.

Costantino Tomasos, managing director of the Piraeus and Singapore-based shipmanagement company, tells Maritime CEO the orders were all about timing. “The outlook for oil/chemical tankers is still positive in the forthcoming years, newbuilding prices still remain close to the historical minimum despite the level of the freight market – normally there is an inverse correlation between these two variables – and the existing MR orderbook is reasonable compared to other segments.”

The seasoned Greek shipowner (who was born in Italy) also adds: “I guess that short term investors or asset speculators are concerned about the high volatility of the market and therefore only the long term and well established players are used to this scenario. The eco design of the new ships is a further incentive when compared to elder secondhand ones”.

Super Eco Tankers’ role in shipping dates back to the 19th century. According to VesselsValue.com it has 13 tankers under management with a capacity ranging from 37,100 to 52,400 dwt and further four 40,000 and 50,000 dwt MR have been ordered in South Korea recently with delivery scheduled from 2017 onwards. The sister company SEBM – Super Eco Bulkers Management’s fleet consists of seven units: three 34,000 dwt handysizes, one supramax and a brand new handysize delivered this year from AVIC Weihai. A further two handysizes are on order at the same Chinese shipyard. According to Tomasos, their suppleness, age and restrained size, blended with a right policy to meet customers’ requirements, will preserve his company from the ongoing crisis which is affecting the dry cargo sector and more intensively the larger bulkers.

Looking into the future, Tomasos is interested in finding new financial investors and fresh capital.

“I think,” he explains, “for a company which intends to protect its future, like we are, entering the capital market also implies a strategic choice, for example fleet refurbishment and expansion.

Considering our peers in the tanker business, unlike choosing a typical IPO we might merge with a company already listed on the Nasdaq or the NYSE. This is a strategic move we intend implementing at the right time with the right partnership.”

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