Tufton-backed Stainless Tankers will have a new chief executive in place from 30 June.
Alex Karakassis is stepping down, to be replaced by Andrew Hampson, chief executive of Tufton Investment Management, which manages UK-listed shipowner Tufton Oceanic Assets.
Stainless Tankers was formed in 2023 through the purchase of seven vessels from Tufton funds, and then carried out an IPO in Oslo, before buying two more ships.
Chairman Ted Kalborg, the founder of Tufton, said: “I would like to pass on my sincere thanks on behalf of the entire board for the immense effort and contribution that Alex has shown towards the success of Stainless Tankers.”
“Since the IPO, he has overseen the creation of the company and the seamless transition of the nine vessels into the commercial management of the Womar pool with true professionalism and commitment. It has been a pleasure working with Alex over the last 18 months and I wish him every success in the future,” he added.
Kalborg said he was sure the shipowner would remain in safe hands with Hampson at the helm, having worked with the new CEO for more than 20 years.
The Harvard-educated Greek Karakassis was previously an executive at two shipping companies after a long career in investment banking.
The former finance chief at Oaktree Capital Management-backed Chemical Tankers told TradeWinds in November that he likes to maintain a low profile.
Karakassis started his career in investment banking in 1997 working at Solomon Brothers and Citigroup, touching on shipping in the transportation group and working in Greece.
He became more entrenched in shipping when Oaktree Capital launched Hansa Leavy Lift with Beluga Shipping’s fleet following the company’s collapse amid fraud allegations.
Earnings dip
Stainless Tankers also reported first-quarter net profit of $3m, against $3.2m in the same period of 2023. Revenue rose to $15.3m from $13.5m.
Karakassis said he was pleased with a solid quarter.
“While our net pool TCE [time charter equivalent earnings] fell slightly short of our target as the anticipated firming of TCEs took a few weeks longer to materialise, we are seeing very strong momentum since March,” he added.
The boss is expecting the second quarter to be the owner’s strongest yet, with TCE exceeding $23,000 per day.
At quarter-end, Stainless Tankers had $2.3m in unrestricted cash and a net outstanding loan balance of $81.7m.
The fleet had a market value of $162.5m as prices for secondhand tonnage firmed this year.
This lowered the loan-to-value to 50.3%.
The dividend will be $3.38m, or $0.25 per share.
