Greek shipowner Venergy Maritime continues to expand its presence in the crude oil transportation market, having added four new Suezmax tankers to its fleet in an effort to increase its order book.
Market sources indicate that Venergy Maritime, a shipping company under the Greek Vyron Vasileiadis Group, has signed a contract with Hengli Heavy Industries to build 2+2 Suezmax tankers with a deadweight tonnage of 158,000 tons. The first two tankers are expected to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2028, and if the alternative vessels become available, they are expected to be delivered in 2029.
On June 3, Hengli Heavy Industries confirmed that it had signed a contract with Venergy Maritime for a Suezmax tanker project, but did not disclose further details such as the specific size of the order or the unit price per vessel. Shipbrokers estimate that the unit price for Suezmax tankers recently secured by Chinese shipyards is approximately $89 million; based on this figure, the total value of the four new vessels is estimated at approximately $356 million.
In addition to Hengli Heavy Industries’ newbuild project, Venergy Maritime has already placed an order with Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding in April 2026 for 2+2 158,000 DWT Suezmax tankers, scheduled for delivery in 2029 and 2030; it has also placed an order with Guangzhou Shipyard International for two 157,000 DWT Suezmax tankers. This marks the first time that Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding and Guangzhou Shipyard International have established a partnership with this Greek shipowner in the newbuild market.
The announcement of this newbuild program reflects Venergy Maritime’s aggressive plan to expand its crude oil tanker fleet. The shipowner is working full steam ahead to build a large crude oil tanker fleet from the ground up.
Based on historical order data, Venergy Maritime has adopted a diversified strategy in terms of shipbuilding and vessel types, with orders spread across multiple Asian shipyards. In addition to the Suezmax tanker project and the associated shipyard mentioned earlier, the shipowner also holds orders for 4+2 113,500 DWT LR2 product tankers at New Times Shipbuilding and multiple 50,000 DWT MR2 product tankers at K Shipbuilding.
Data shows that in just about 11 months, Vyron Vasileiadis has secured firm orders for 28 oil tankers and container ships, with a total investment exceeding $1.5 billion; if announced and unconfirmed options are included, the group’s total investment in the newbuild market has approached $2 billion, and if many of these options are exercised, the total investment will increase further.
Including Venergy Maritime’s shipbuilding project, Hengli Heavy Industries announced orders for 21+4 new vessels on June 3, bringing its annual order intake to over 150 vessels. Oil tanker projects account for a significant portion of Hengli Heavy Industries’ overall order portfolio.