Haji-Ioannou Considers Buying Osprey's Clean Tankers
Airline chief Stelios Haji-Ioannou's tanker company Stelmar has abandoned its bid for the First International fleet of clean tankers and is now reportedly considering those of Singapore-listed Osprey Maritime, Reuters reported. "Stelmar is looking at the Osprey ships, because the deal with First International is now looking too messy and too time-consuming," a New York-based source told Reuters. Stelmar's London office declined to comment. Shipping magnate John Fredriksen, whose World Shipholding Group holds a 54 percent stake in Osprey, announced in late December that he planned to sell off Osprey's 14 clean tankers to generate cash to invest in gas carriers. The source said that U.S.
Haji-Ioannou Considers Buying Osprey's Clean Tankers
Airline chief Stelios Haji-Ioannou's tanker company Stelmar has abandoned its bid for the First International fleet of clean tankers and is now reportedly considering those of Singapore-listed Osprey Maritime, Reuters reported. "Stelmar is looking at the Osprey ships, because the deal with First International is now looking too messy and too time-consuming," a New York-based source told Reuters. Stelmar's London office declined to comment. Shipping magnate John Fredriksen, whose World Shipholding Group holds a 54 percent stake in Osprey, announced in late December that he planned to sell off Osprey's 14 clean tankers to generate cash to invest in gas carriers. The source said that U.S.
Tanker Battle Snared In Court
Stelios Haji-Ioannou's tanker company Stelmar is poised to swoop on a fleet of modern petroleum products tankers but the deal has become ensnared by a bitter legal battle. The dispute is between the tankers' owner, First International, controlled by the high-profile shipping entrepreneur Paul Slater, and the company's financiers Berliner Bank, industry sources say. "Berliner Bank is leaning heavily on (Slater) to sign the company across to them, but the ships are mainly financed through U.S. bonds -- and the bondholders want to sell to Stelmar. They won't let Paul sign the company across to Berliner," said one industry source. The fleet…
