Greek shipping magnate George Economou has upped his stake in the Palios family-linked dry bulk player OceanPal ahead of an upcoming boardroom challenge.
The latest filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission shows Economou has picked up an additional 1% stake in the Diana Shipping spinoff via his investment vehicle Sphinx and now owns 11.1% of the company chaired by Semiramis Paliou, daughter of shipping veteran Simeon Palios.
Earlier this year, Economou revealed his plan to oust most of OceanPal’s directors, proposing to stockholders to request their resignation while nominating former chairman of OceanFreight and ex-board members of Ocean Rig, John Liveris and Georgios Kokkodis, for board election at the company’s next annual meeting of stockholders.
Economou made his first move on OceanPal in September 2023 and has so far paid nearly $1m for his stake in the Nasdaq-listed owner of three panamaxes and a pair of capes estimated to be worth around $60m.
There are seven board members at OceanPal, and Economou is looking to remove five of them.
Chair Paliou has also been bolstering her position, lifting her stake in OceanPal to 27.34%, while Ioannis Zafirakis, one of the directors Economou is not after, has added more shares and now owns about 4.1% of the company.
Meanwhile, Anastasios Margaronis, president and board member at Diana Shipping, has also picked up shares in OceanPal, corresponding to a 6.39% stake.
