Gunvor, Oceangold and Maas Capital Form Tanker JV

A new ship holding company has been formed through a joint venture agreement between physical energy trader Gunvor Group, ship management company Oceangold Tankers and investor Maas Capital.

The three partners hold an equal share in the new company, ClearOcean Tankers, which has been incorporated in Cyprus.

The new joint venture company has entered into shipbuilding contracts for six vessels from South Korean shipyards, including four MR2 product tankers from STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. and two LR2 product tankers from Daehan Shipbuilding Co. All six newbuilds are scheduled to be delivered during the first half of 2019 and will be eco-friendly and scrubber-ready.

The newbuilds will be long-term time-chartered to Gunvor’s wholly-owned shipping division, Clearlake Shipping. Oceangold Tankers is also acting as construction supervision and technical manager of the vessels.

ClearOcean Tankers may acquire additional newbuilding, resale or second-hand crude oil or product tankers in the future.

Jan Andersen, Head of Shipping at Clearlake, said, “Expanding into vessel ownership and taking advantage of the historically low shipbuilding prices to contract eco-friendly, scrubber-ready newbuilding tankers represented an attractive opportunity. Teaming up with solid partners like Oceangold Tankers and Maas Capital enables us to control more vessels and to de-risk our investment.”

John Dragnis, CEO of Oceangold Tankers, commented, “We are delighted with the establishment of a unique partnership that brings together one of the largest charterers of product tanker vessels in the world with in-depth market knowledge, a ship owning and management group with unblemished track record and a financial investor with a longstanding track record in the shipping industry.”

Mark Ras, Managing Director of Maas Capital Shipping, said, “This investment exemplifies our investment approach of acquiring top assets at a compelling price in partnership with top industry participants. We aim to invest together with leading and longstanding industry players and are excited about this new partnership with Gunvor Group and Oceangold Tankers.”