New Shipping, the private shipping company owned by renowned Greek shipowner Adam Polemis, has quietly expanded its order book for oil tankers, maintaining its momentum of capacity growth by placing orders for new vessels with a Chinese shipyard.
According to foreign media reports, New Shipping has confirmed an order for one 115,000 DWT Aframax tanker from China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s (CSSC) Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (DSIC). Shipbrokers and industry sources revealed that the order was signed in 2025, had not been previously disclosed, and has an early delivery date.
This shipbuilding project is not the first collaboration between New Shipping and CSSC. In early 2026, CSSC Beihai Shipbuilding announced that it had received an order for one Suezmax tanker from a Greek shipowner; according to market reports, that shipowner is New Shipping, and the vessel is expected to be delivered in the third quarter of 2029.
As CSSC’s primary shipbuilding base, DSIC has announced orders for approximately 40 new vessels in 2026, including 12 container ships, 18+2 VLCCs, 1 shuttle tanker, and 6+2 product tankers.
According to Equasis data, New Shipping currently operates a fleet of 27 vessels, consisting of crude oil tankers and bulk carriers. In 2025, the company acquired one modern LR2 tanker and one mid-age Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) on the second-hand market.
Entering 2026, Aframax/LR2 tankers are no longer the preferred choice for Greek shipowners in their newbuilding activities; market attention has shifted increasingly toward larger Suezmax tankers and VLCCs.
According to data from Xclusiv Shipbrokers, Greek shipowners placed orders for a total of four Aframax/LR2 tankers during the first quarter of 2026, while orders for VLCCs, Suezmax tankers, and MR2 product tankers stood at 24, 13, and 12 vessels, respectively.
Globally, in the first quarter of 2026, shipowners placed orders for a total of 11 Aframax/LR2 tankers—up from just 7 vessels during the same period last year—while orders for VLCCs and Suezmax tankers stood at 64 and 41 vessels, respectively.
Despite the low volume of Aframax/LR2 tanker orders placed in 2026, supported by the “ordering boom” of two or three years ago, Aframax/LR2 tankers still account for a substantial 19% of the Greek tanker orderbook—ranking second only to Suezmax tankers.