Greek owner Aegean Shipping Management has agreed to offload an LR2 tanker and exercised an option for the construction of a second very large crude carrier (VLCC).
The company, controlled by Giorgos Melissanidis, recently agreed to sell the LR2 tanker Green Adventure, built in 2022 at Cosco Yangzhou’s shipyards in China, for $83m. In early March, it agreed to sell the 112,600-dwt aframax tanker Green Attitude, built in 2018. According to shipbroker reports, the vessel was sold for $71m.
Aegean is also investing in the expansion of its fleet, extending beyond the LR2 segment into the super tanker market, the so-called VLCCs.
More specifically, the company exercised an option for the construction of a second VLCC at Hengli Heavy Industry shipyard in China. The initial agreement between Aegean Shipping and Hengli was announced at the opening of Posidonia 2026 and marked the company’s entry into the VLCC segment, a strategic move that broadens its business footprint in the seaborne crude oil transportation sector.
Following this move, Aegean’s total order at the shipyard has risen to three LR2 tankers, which can carry both crude oil and petroleum products, and two VLCC carriers, each capable of transporting up to 2 million barrels of crude.
It is worth noting that Aegean’s investment planning is focused exclusively on newbuilding orders.
Its total mixed fleet currently stands at 21 vessels, comprising tankers and bulk carriers.
Aegean said that these moves keep the company’s average fleet age below three years, and at the same time is boosting its carrying capacity, which, including vessels under construction, has now reached 2.5 million tonnes.
Furthermore, the company is in a period of newbuilding tanker deliveries. In late July, it took delivery of the LR2 tanker Green Liberty at COSCO Yangzhou Shipyard. This is the first of four tankers that the company will progressively incorporate into its fleet over the coming months.
