The beat goes on for the private Scorpio Group in its campaign to enlarge pools across size categories in clean products.

Scorpio has clinched its first expansion of the new year with the addition of three Asiatic Lloyd tankers to its LR2 pool, according to pools director Ugo Romano.

Asiatic Lloyd, the Singapore-based arm of the AL Group, is a new entry to the Scorpio platform, Romano told TradeWinds.

The owner has entered the 110,000-dwt Poseidon Bay (built 2009), Pioneer Bay and Polaris Bay (both built 2008), pushing the LR2 pool to a total of 55 vessels.

“We are very delighted to welcome Asiatic Lloyd with their LR2s into the Scorpio pool family, reaffirming the general positive trend of pool growth and segment consolidation,” Romano told TradeWinds.

Asiatic Lloyd made news earlier this month expanding and renewing its MR tanker fleet with an order for up to four 50,000-dwt product carriers at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) worth about $156m.

“Container ships are the backbone of our company, but we have diversified into the product tanker and dry bulk sectors in the last few years,” Atlantic Lloyd managing director Nicholaus Bunnemann told TradeWinds then. “Our existing MR tankers are getting old and we need to rejuvenate the fleet.”

The company’s clean-products fleet on the water includes three MRs built in 2008 and 2009, plus the three LR2s just placed with the Scorpio pool.

The additions continue a growth campaign started by the Scorpio pools in mid-2020.

With Scorpio’s LR2 pool now up to 55 vessels, it is the group’s second-largest after the 73-strong MR pool. The Monaco-based outfit has 31 ships in its conventional handymax pool besides the 15 in the spin-off for older tonnage. Scorpio also runs 14 LR1s.

Controlled by the Lolli-Ghetti family, the Scorpio Group backs New York-listed Scorpio Tankers, the world's largest product tanker owner with 130 ships.

TradeWinds has revealed plans by Scorpio Tankers to sell all 12 of its LR1s to competitor Hafnia. Hafnia later confirmed in a public filing that it is in "advanced negotiations" to buy the tankers.

Scorpio has not publicly commented on the deal, but a formal announcement is expected to be imminent.