The newly established Greek shipping company Akrotiri Tankers continues to expand its presence in the newbuild market, officially entering the Suezmax tanker segment through a newbuild project with a Chinese shipbuilder.
According to sources in the shipbuilding industry, Akrotiri Tankers has returned to New Times Shipbuilding to place new orders. The latest collaboration includes one 157,000 DWT Suezmax tanker, with a unit price of approximately $82 million, scheduled for delivery in 2029.
The finalization of this order marks Akrotiri Tankers’ official entry into the Suezmax tanker sector, further expanding its business footprint beyond its initial focus on the LR1 product tanker market. To date, the shipowner has ordered three new vessels of two different types from New Times Shipbuilding. The remaining two vessels, announced in November 2025, are 75,000 DWT LR1 product tankers with a unit price of approximately $59 million, and are expected to be delivered by the end of 2028.
According to reports, Akrotiri Tankers was founded in 2025 by Marielena Procopiou and her husband, Konstantinos Lampsias, and currently operates a fleet of three LR1 product tankers. The latest order indicates that the shipowner is seeking to balance its business portfolio between the product and crude oil markets.
Marielena Procopiou’s father is George Procopiou, the Greek “shipping magnate.” Dynacom Tankers, the shipping company owned by George Procopiou, is a long-standing client of New Times Shipbuilding, and the two companies have collaborated on the construction of dozens of vessels.
According to statistics, New Times Shipbuilding has secured orders for multiple new vessels in 2026. Including the latest Suezmax tankers, the total stands at 15+2 vessels, comprising 7+2 oil tankers and 8 container ships. The container ship orders were placed by Maersk; the vessels are 18,600 TEU in capacity, feature a liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel design, and have a total construction cost exceeding $1.5 billion.
As one of China’s leading private shipyards, New Times Shipbuilding operates 500,000-ton, 300,000-ton, and 100,000-ton dry docks, with its primary products including large and medium-sized bulk carriers, oil tankers, container ships, and various types of chemical tankers.
With orders on the rise, New Times Shipbuilding is investing RMB 5 billion to expand its production capacity. The new project covers an area of 900 mu and will feature a new 700-meter-long dry dock (equipped with 1,000-ton and 1,600-ton gantry cranes), capable of accommodating two VLCCs side by side. Upon completion, New Times Shipbuilding will have a total of four dry docks.