Laskaridis Shipping, a traditional bulker and reefer firm controlled by outspoken Greek owner Panos Laskaridis, is making its most significant investment in the tanker sector yet, pouncing on MR2 resale tonnage being built in China.
Market sources in Athens and China are tying Laskaridis management firm Lavinia Corp to a pair of methanol-ready product carriers at Zhoushan Changhong Shipyard. No price details are available.
The Greek owner is said to have bought the two ships due for delivery in October 2025 and April 2026.
Clarksons’ database lists Lavinia as the owner of the 50,000-dwt vessels featuring Hull Nos Zhoushan Changhong CHB 5003 and 5004.
TradeWinds has learned that the two tankers were originally ordered by Pro Tanker — the shipping arm of Zhoushan Changhong.
Lavinia is not new to the tanker business.
The company owns a secondhand MR2 tanker it bought two years ago, as well as a handful of small tankers that partly cater to the fuel needs of its reefer fleet in the South Atlantic.
However, Lavinia had not previously bought any tanker newbuildings.
Its choice of technologically advanced, methanol-ready tonnage built to the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute’s Whale CT50 design suggests that this is a long-term investment decision aimed at seriously expanding into that sector.
Lavinia has already given signs that it regards methanol as a promising fuel.
Two years ago, the company set up a pilot project with Bureau Veritas to test a methanol-based fuel cell system to supply the entire electrical needs of the 64,000-dwt ultramax bulker Leonidas (built 2017).
In May 2024, Lavinia announced it was planning to expand the system to eight sister ships.
Another Greek tanker owner investing in dual-fuel, methanol-ready tanker newbuildings at Zhoushan Changhong is Navios Maritime Partners. Atlas Maritime also has such suezmaxes under construction in South Korea.
Faithful to the core
Even though it has branched out into tankers, Lavinia is not neglecting its core bulker and reefer activities.
The firm has seven conventionally-fuelled kamsarmax newbuildings under construction — four at Qingdao Yangfan Shipbuilding and three at Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry (Yangzhou) — due for delivery between 2025 and 2027.
Two months ago, Lavinia also set up a new joint venture with the Liaoyu Group to deepen its cooperation with the Chinese fish processing conglomerate that spans more than three decades.
“The partners [Lavinia and Liaoyu] are now proceeding with the design and specifications of the ships to be built in cooperation with the respective design office and shipyards,” Lavinia said in a LinkedIn post.
