Greek shipowner John Dragnis has broken into the offshore market with a fleet deal alongside major financial partners who have a joint eye on further growth.
A three-way tie-up involving Dragnis vehicle Goldenport alongside investors in the US and United Arab Emirates has bought a chunk of Atlantic Navigation’s fleet.
MAG Offshore — a company backed by EnTrust Global wing Maas Capital, the Goldenport Group and Emirati owner Allianz Marine Services — announced on Wednesday that it had bought 20 ships from the Singapore-listed company.
In a statement unveiling the investment, Goldenport chief executive John Dragnis said he was “pleased to announce the expansion of the group into the offshore sector in partnership with Maas Capital and Allianz Marine Services”.
The acquisitions bring MAG’s fleet to 24, with the initial quartet of vessels operating in the Middle East Gulf region.
MAG’s strategy is to buy and build a fleet of offshore vessels for work in the Middle East, South East Asia and Africa.
Dragnis told TradeWinds separately on Wednesday that if MAG decides to expand further, it will focus on selective acquisitions of existing, quality and relatively modern tonnage if that adds value to the partnership.
“We will not expand blindly … one has to balance carefully,” Dragnis said.
Mark Ras, managing partner at Maas Capital, which was acquired by US-based EnTrust Global in 2021, also expressed his satisfaction as his company continues “building our business in the Middle East and South East Asia … with trusted and professional partners”.
“The MAG investment adheres to our core investment values of building and investing in assets, companies and markets with strong underlying growth, that are underserved and undersupplied,” Ras said.
According to Wednesday’s announcement, Atlantic Navigation will continue to provide limited management services on select MAG assets temporarily.
Otherwise, Allianz will take over management.
VesselsValue lists eight small anchor-handling tug supply vessels as part of the transaction, plus three platform supply vessels, a crew boat, two liftboats and six utility vessels.
The announcement did not disclose a sale price, but when news circulated that Atlantic Navigation had sold the ships, the deal’s volume was discussed at $183m.
Acquisition financing was provided by the National Bank of Fujairah, with Alantra Corporate Finance Ltd being the sole financial adviser and Watson Farley & Williams LLP acting as legal adviser to MAG.
Gradual transition
Dragnis is the latest Greek shipowner to show an interest in the offshore space following a notable recovery in the market.
His countryman, Evangelos Marinakis, has been building his offshore exposure at a time when day rates have recovered from a sustained downturn.
The Dragnis family is active in the container, bulker and tanker markets. It also has a successful yacht charter business in its homeland.
MAG is not the Greek clan’s first cooperation with Maas Capital.
The two have been partners since 2018, alongside trader Gunvor, in ClearOcean Tankers — a joint venture that ordered and currently owns four MR tankers built at STX Offshore & Shipbuilding and a pair of LR2s built at DH Shipbuilding.
Dragnis said in Wednesday’s statement that his latest investment in the offshore segment reflects his “conviction that energy transition will take place at a more realistic pace and that the offshore oil and gas sector will continue to play a key role in the future”.
His belief in a gradual energy transition is also reflected in Goldenport’s involvement in a long-term plan to set up a floating storage and regasification unit near the Dragnis family’s Greek home town on Volos.
That project, however, is moving slowly and will take its time, as Dragnis acknowledged in an interview with TradeWinds earlier this year.
