Signal Maritime, an AI-focused tanker pool operator controlled by Ioannis Martinos, has won Stolt Tankers as a new partner in the MR pool it set up last year.
According to a new entry on Signal’s website, the 46,000-dwt Stolt Sisto (built 2010) has entered the fleet to become its 19th such vessel.
Signal’s MR pool got up and running in 2021, as TradeWinds reported.
It soon received a major boost when Shell entrusted it with 10 vessels in its first-ever cooperation with a pool.
Other early backers of the MR pool were Astra Shipmanagement, an outfit owned by members of the wider Martinos family, and Greece’s Niovis Shipping.
The Stolt Sisto apart, Signal’s MR pool notched up other gains recently. According to its website, it was joined by the 50,000-dwt Pacific Onyx (built 2013) — a Japanese-owned vessel managed by Eastern Pacific.
Signal has also time-chartered another ship owned by Greece’s Chemnav, the 53,500-dwt Palermo (built 2010).
With a fleet of 19 ships, the MR pool currently exceeds the size of Signal’s core, traditional aframax pool, which numbers 18 vessels, according to its website.
The latest addition to Signal’s aframax pool was Clearlake Shipping, which entrusted Signal with the 114,500-dwt Victory Venture (built 2017) in February.
Signal is led by chief executive Panos Dimitracopoulos, who was previously head of chartering at Thenamaris.
The company counts on its proprietary Signal Ocean data platform, which blends tech with chartering know-how, to provide real-time data and analysis.
