Greek owner Nicholas Notias is upping the ante with yet another order for a pair of MR2 newbuildings.
Just like his first foray into tankers in 2021, Notias opted for K Shipbuilding — formerly known as STX Offshore & Shipbuilding — for two scrubber-fitted product tankers ready for LNG propulsion.
Shipping sources said Piraeus and New York-based SteelShips is paying about $46.3m each for the ships, which are due to be delivered in the first half of 2025.
That is some increase from the $37m that the owner paid for the two similar ships at the same yard two years ago.
The price adjustment does not reflect just inflationary pressures, but also the increased demand and higher profit prospects for such vessels in the geopolitical aftermath of the war in Ukraine.
Notias has already given proof of how flexible he is when it comes to grasping profit opportunities in connection with rising asset values.
Shortly after ordering his first pair of MR2 newbuildings in 2021, Notias sold one of them at a profit to Greek peer Eastern Mediterranean Maritime.
A little later, the second one — the 50,000-dwt Lucky Trader (built 2022) — also went to Eastmed, again at a mark-up.
Maintaining a fundamentally bullish view of the tanker markets, it did not take Notias long to return to K Shipbuilding — a yard he feels comfortable and has a good relationship with — for the next batch of newbuildings.
According to market sources, SteelShips has not committed the newbuildings to firm employment but has been in touch with charterers and has received offers.
On the hunt for bulkers
A former attorney with Bear Stearns in New York with close family ties to traditional Greek shipping clans, Notias has been working in the maritime industry since the mid-1990s.
SteelShips, the company he set up in 2013, has always considered bulkers as a core business.
That did not change even after the company temporarily remained without any such vessels on the water, following agreement to dispose of the 63,100-dwt Steel Grace (built 2015) in September last year.
The vessel was delivered to its new owners in April and is now trading as Steel C.
The sale allowed Notias to capture the ship’s value while looking for a new entry point for more modern tonnage — with a secondhand ship or newbuildings.
It is in the newbuilding sector that the owner is striking first.
TradeWinds has learned that SteelShips has already signed a letter of intent with a Chinese yard to build two firm ultramaxes for delivery in 2025.
Further details on the identity of the yard, the specification of the ships and their price remain elusive. However, if the contract is firmed up, it is thought to involve two optional, identical vessels further down the line.
The potential order represents a play on modern vessels built to the International Maritime Organization’s NOX Tier 3 standards and those set by the United Nations’ global regulator’s Phase 3 Energy Efficiency Design Index.
Players ordering such ships are betting on a better market in 2025, with more demand for vessels complying with tightening environmental regulations.
