OceanPal expands into product tanker business

Nasdaq-listed Greek bulk carrier owner OceanPal is diversifying its fleet with a $27 million investment in the product carrier sector.

The company said it had entered into an agreement with an entity controlled by one of its directors for a 2009 MR2 model manufactured by Hyundai Mipo Zeze Start.

The board unanimously approved the transaction, with OceanPal adding that it reflects the company’s vision to rapidly expand its operations to take advantage of opportunities in the product tanker sector.

“Management’s decision to enter the product tanker market at this time is an exciting development in the company’s corporate strategy to operate a diversified fleet amid continued optimism in the product tanker sector,” said Robert Perri, CEO of OceanPal.

The vessel is scheduled to be delivered to OceanPal in the third quarter of 2024. Of the purchase price, $18.9 million will be paid in cash and the remainder in shares.

OceanPal was formed in late 2021 when Semiramis Paliou-led Diana Shipping spun off three older bulk carriers into a new vessel. Last August, the company also entered the chemical tanker segment with an investment in Norway’s RFSea Infrastructure II, which has a pair of 6,600-ton stainless steel vessels under contract to transport methanol at its Wuhu shipyard in China. OceanPal currently has five bulk carriers, with one Capesize set to leave the fleet.