Pantheon Tankers Returns to MR Newbuilds With Pair Ordered in China
Key Takeaways
- •Pantheon Tankers has been linked to a deal for two 50,000 dwt MR tanker newbuilds at COSCO Guangdong Shipyard in China, though pricing and delivery dates remain unconfirmed.
- •The order marks the company's first purpose-built MR newbuilding programme since a six-ship series delivered by South Korea's STX Offshore & Shipbuilding in 2019.
- •The operator currently manages 14 MR tankers, with eight smaller Hyundai Mipo-built units from 2016 and 2017 now approaching a decade in service.
- •The MR order adds to a China-centred newbuilding drive that includes a completed LR2/aframax programme, two LNG dual-fuel suezmaxes booked for 2028, and VLCCs under construction for 2027 delivery.
- •Pantheon has additionally been linked to four 306,000 dwt VLCCs at Hengli Heavy Industry, a newer Chinese yard that restarted shipbuilding at the former STX Dalian facility, for delivery in 2028 and 2029.
Anna Angelicoussis-led Pantheon Tankers has re-entered the MR newbuilding market with a fresh order in China, ending a lengthy absence from the segment.
The Athens-based tanker major has been linked to a new MR construction deal at COSCO Guangdong Shipyard covering a pair of 50,000 dwt newbuilds. Details covering price and delivery dates have yet to be independently confirmed.
MR, or Medium Range, tankers — typically in the 45,000 to 55,000 dwt range — are the standard workhorse tonnage of the global refined products trade, moving cargoes such as diesel, gasoline and jet fuel. The segment's trade patterns have been redrawn since 2022, with sanctions on Russian refined products pushing many flows onto longer routes.
The order marks Pantheon's first purpose-built MR programme since a six-ship series delivered by South Korea's STX Offshore & Shipbuilding in 2019.
Pantheon currently manages a fleet of 14 MR tankers. The six STX-built ships are joined by eight smaller MR units of between 40,000 and 46,000 dwt, all built at Hyundai Mipo in South Korea in 2016 and 2017 — the oldest of which are now nearing a decade in service.
The MR move adds another segment to a substantial newbuilding drive that is increasingly centred on Chinese yards. COSCO Guangdong is part of the state-backed COSCO Shipping heavy-industry yard network that also includes the Yangzhou facility, and the broader draw tracks China's standing as the world's largest shipbuilding nation, which has captured the largest share of global newbuilding contracting in recent years.
Pantheon, the product tanker arm of Greece's Angelicoussis Shipping Group, which also spans crude and LNG shipping, recently completed a four-ship, 114,000 dwt LR2/aframax programme at COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry in Yangzhou and has two 157,000 dwt LNG dual-fuel suezmaxes booked at a COSCO-affiliated yard for 2028.
The company also has two VLCCs — very large crude carriers, the largest crude oil tanker class — under construction at Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co for delivery in 2027.
Pantheon has additionally been linked to four 306,000 dwt VLCCs at Hengli Heavy Industry for delivery in 2028 and 2029. Hengli is among the newer names in Chinese merchant shipbuilding, having taken over the former STX Dalian yard and restarted shipbuilding there in recent years.
Source: Splash247
