Stathis Topouzoglou-backed First Ship Lease has boosted its presence in the LR2 market with a $97.2m swoop for two newbuildings.
Singapore-listed FSL plans to place the vessels at Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry after completing an equity issue.
The Tier III tankers will be fitted with scrubbers and are earmarked for delivered in November 2020 and January 2021 should it firm up a letter of intent by the end of this year.
FSL will double its exposure to the LR2 space with the 114,000-dwt brace which form part of the company’s fleet renewal plans.
It told investors: “The new vessels will be constructed according to newer designs and utilize new technologies.
“As the new vessels will be more affordable to operate and able to carry a variety of cargos, it is expected that they will be more efficient and easier to charter to counterparties compared to the vessels in FSLT’s current fleet.”
First Ship Lease initially became a shipowner by default after the financial crisis but has developed a mix of spot and time charter business during the past few years.
Its existing LR2s were built in 2006. It also has a trio of product tankers from the same era alongside some smaller vessels.
Topouzoglou took control of the company earlier this year and has since worked to strengthen the balance sheet.
The Greek shipowner is best known as the backer of Prime Marine Tankers, which has a fleet of 27 vessels on the water.
Its fleet is largely in the LR1 space, however, if does have a single LR2 on the water, according to data from VesselsValue.
