Six months later, Metrostar Management, a Greek shipowner under Theodore Angelopoulos, announced its return to the Suezmax tanker market while continuing to diversify its fleet portfolio.
According to Metrostar’s official website fleet data, the company has acquired the 160,250 DWT Suezmax tanker “Metro Moon,” which is 13 years old. The vessel was built by HJ Shipbuilding & Construction (formerly HANJIN Heavy Industries & Construction (HHIC)) and delivered in 2013. Its original name was “Fairway.”
According to ship brokers, the tanker was originally slated for sale in 2025 for $44.5 million, but the deal fell through. In January 2026, the tanker was put back on the secondhand market with an asking price of approximately $53 million, and it was reportedly sold for a higher $56 million a month later.
It is worth mentioning that in October 2025, Metrostar sold the last two Suezmax tankers in its fleet to Delta Tankers, which is also a Greek shipowner, thus announcing its formal withdrawal from the Suezmax tanker sector.
The two tankers designed for the deal are named “Crude Levante” and “Crude Zephyrus,” with a deadweight tonnage of 156,800 tons. They will be built by New Era Shipbuilding and equipped with a Level 3 antifouling system. Each ship will cost approximately $78 million, for a total of approximately $156 million.
Founded in 1996, Metrostar is known for its strategic asset operations in the tanker market, often selling vessels under construction at significant premiums. In addition to the recently acquired “Metro Moon,” Metrostar’s fleet includes six tankers: four 115,000 DWT LR2 tankers to be delivered by HD Hyundai Vietnam Shipbuilding between 2024 and 2025, and two 75,000 DWT LR1 tankers to be delivered by Yangzijiang Shipbuilding in 2025.
In the container ship sector, earlier this year, Metrostar announced the acquisition of three 1300TEU feeder container ships built in 2008 by a Chinese shipyard, thus entering the container ship market. This brings the shipowner’s fleet to nine vessels.
In recent months, demand for new Suezmax tankers has been increasing, resulting in a relatively moderate secondhand market. Greek shipbroker Allied Shipbroking estimates that a five-year-old Suezmax tanker is worth approximately $92 million, while a newbuild would cost around $89 million.
Allied Shipbroking points out that secondhand tanker prices across all age groups have increased by up to 9% in the past month. So far this year, 27 Suezmax tankers with an average age of 12 years have changed hands; during the same period, shipowners have placed orders for 54 new vessels.