Greek bulker owner OceanPal is entering the chemical tanker segment with an investment in Norwegian entity, RFSea Infrastructure II, which has a pair of 6,600 dwt methanol-ready stainless steel vessels contracted at Wuhu Shipyard in China.
The Nasdaq-listed spinoff of Diana Shipping, which counts two capesize bulkers and three panamaxes in its fleet, has teamed up with London-based alternative investment and commercial management firm RFOcean and other partners and investors on the deal in which Fearnley Securities acted as the project arranger.
The Robert Perri-led company did not reveal the size of its investment but said it expects vessel deliveries to take place during the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, respectively. In June, the Frederik Rye-Florentz-led RFOcean was linked to four 6,600 dwt units at Wuhu for around $80m in total.
OceanPal was formed in late 2021 when Semiramis Paliou-led Diana spun off three of its older ships into a newly formed vehicle, which at the end of the second quarter of 2023 logged a net profit of $1.26m on today’s five-ship charter revenue of $5.4m.
“We are pleased to invest in these state-of-the-art, methanol-ready chemical tankers, in a chemical tanker market where we believe the fundamentals will improve in the next several years. In addition, this investment will improve our environmental footprint, as these newbuildings are expected to be 20-25% more fuel efficient than conventional chemical tankers,” Perri stated.
