Pelagic Partners continues to bolster its tanker fleet. The Cyprus-based alternative investment fund said its Pelagic Yield Fund had purchased the 2009-built, LR1 tanker Summit Africa.
.Multiple brokers reported the Chinese-built 73,500 dwt vessel, which is currently trading in the Hafnia Pool, came from Hartmann Group for around $24.8m.
Pelagic Partners was founded by the Hartmann and Abou Merhi families which manage one of the biggest shipping portfolios in Cyprus. The Pelagic Yield Fund was set up in February last year and applies the strategy of Pelagic Fund I which currently has assets under management of $70m across eight diversified vessels. With the kickstart of the Yield Fund and the product tanker acquisitions, the total number of vessels owned by Pelagic Partners stands at 11, with two more offshore wind farm commissioning service operation vessels (CSOVs) under construction in India set to deliver in 2025.
“Given the extreme low orderbook, we project that the market will enter into negative supply growth within next 24 months. This is accompanied by a strong increase in ton mile demand due to changing geopolitical circumstances,” said Atef Abou Merhi managing director of Pelagic Partners, adding: “We furthermore believe the changes in market fundamentals will benefit the LR segment hence our diversification from our already existing MR fleet.”
