Two vessels! Bankrupt shipyard secures another order for product oil tankers from a Greek shipowner.

Greek shipowners Dimitris Vernicos and George Vernicos continue to advance the fleet renewal by placing orders for their first batch of product tankers.

According to TradeWinds, the Vernicos brothers recently signed a letter of intent with Yangzhou Guoyu Shipbuilding to build one plus one MR1-type product oil tankers, each with a deadweight tonnage of 40,000 tons. The new vessels are expected to be delivered in 2028; the exact construction costs have not been disclosed. At the end of November last year, Greek shipowner Super-Eco Tankers placed an order with Guoyu Shipbuilding for four similar vessels, at which time the cost per vessel was reportedly no more than US$41 million (approximately RMB 281 million).

For reference, Clarkson’s data show that the current price of a new MR-type product oil tanker with a deadweight tonnage of 47,000 to 51,000 tons is approximately US$49.5 million, down 5% from US$52 million in the same period last year.

Market sources report that Ancora Investment Trust, the owner of MR-type oil tankers jointly controlled by the Vernicos and Paraschis families, recently agreed to sell its oldest vessel—the 40,100-dwt “Mariner A” (built in 2005)—for US$12 million. The buyer is a subsidiary of Sahara Group, an international energy giant active in Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

Over the past several years, Ancora Investment Trust has cumulatively sold seven product oil tankers, with net proceeds estimated to be close to US$110 million. Currently, its fleet consists of only four MR1-type tankers, including the 39,800-dwt "Akti A" (built in 2002), the 40,100-dwt "Argolis" (built in 2007), the 38,400-dwt "Clotilde" (built in 2008), and the 40,100-dwt "Hope A" (built in 2004).

It is understood that Guoyu Shipbuilding was originally a controlling subsidiary of Wuhan Guoyu Logistics Industry Group Co., Ltd. Established in June 2005, the shipyard is located in the Yizheng Economic Development Zone in Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province, with a total project investment of 1.5 billion RMB. The shipyard features four slipways and has a maximum lifting capacity of 800 tons. It is capable of building various types of vessels—including cargo ships, oil tankers, and chemical tankers—up to 100,000 tons in size. Its annual production capacity can reach 2 million tons, with an annual output value of approximately 5 billion RMB.

Affected by the overall downturn in the shipbuilding industry, Guoyu Shipbuilding encountered financial difficulties in 2015. To make matters worse, its parent company, Guoyu Logistics, was exposed in March 2016 for overdue bank loans. Under these severe blows, Guoyu Shipbuilding’s production came to a standstill, and several overseas shipowners canceled more than ten new ship orders placed with Guoyu Shipbuilding. As the original shareholders fell into a debt crisis and were unable to repay their debts on time, Guoyu Shipbuilding entered bankruptcy proceedings in November 2021.

In July 2024, the restructuring plan for Guoyu Shipbuilding, with Dingyi Investment serving as the restructuring investor, was overwhelmingly approved by a vote at the creditors’ meeting and subsequently approved by the court ruling, marking Dingyi Investment’s formal acquisition of controlling interest in Guoyu Shipbuilding. At the time, Dingyi Investment stated that after taking control of Guoyu Shipbuilding, it would remain focused on the shipbuilding core business of Guoyu, equip the company with a management and operational team boasting extensive experience, upgrade supporting facilities, and promptly resume full production and operations. Furthermore, Dingyi Investment plans to gradually shift Guoyu Shipbuilding toward the construction of high-value-added vessels. At the same time, Dingyi Investment will also leverage its industrial and financial resources to match Guoyu Shipbuilding with high-quality shipbuilding orders, thereby expanding the company’s shipbuilding output value.

According to Clarkson’s data, excluding the latest orders, Yangzhou Guoyu Shipbuilding currently has a total of 40 vessels on hand, with a combined deadweight tonnage of 2.3643 million tons. These include 23 container ships and 17 chemical tankers, with delivery schedules extending as far as 2028.