Pantheon Tankers, the shipping company controlled by Greek shipowner Anna Angelicoussis, continues to expand its orderbook, making a rare move into the newbuild market for MR product tankers.
According to market reports, Pantheon Tankers has signed a contract with COSCO SHIPPING Heavy Industry (Guangdong) for the construction of two 50,000 DWT MR product tankers, with delivery expected in 2029.
Based on the fleet list on Pantheon Tankers’ official website, the shipowner currently operates 14 MR product tankers. Six of these were ordered directly from the South Korean shipyard K Shipbuilding (formerly STX Offshore & Shipbuilding) and were all delivered in 2019; the remaining eight were built between 2016 and 2017 and were acquired as secondhand vessels in 2022.
This means that the order for two MR product tankers placed with COSCO SHIPPING Heavy Industry (Guangdong) marks Pantheon Tankers’ return to this tanker market segment after a hiatus of nearly ten years.
In addition to 14 MR product tankers, Pantheon Tankers currently operates a total of 42 tankers of various tonnages and is moving forward with newbuilding projects that include Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) and Suezmax tankers, namely two VLCCs being built by Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (DSIC), two LNG dual-fuel Suezmax tankers from COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Yangzhou), and one Suezmax tanker from HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. The two 50,000 DWT MR product tankers from COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Guangdong) have not yet been included in its fleet list.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries recently delivered the Suezmax tanker “Sea Topaz” to Pantheon Tankers; its sister ship, the “Sea Quartz”, is scheduled for delivery in late 2026.
In addition to Pantheon Tankers, Anna Angelicoussis’s entire shipping group has maintained a strong growth trajectory this year: Its liquefied natural gas (LNG) transport subsidiary (Alpha Gas) has ordered two LNG carriers from Hanwha Ocean, scheduled for delivery in 2029, and currently operates 14 LNG carriers; Alpha Bulkers, the group’s bulk shipping division, has ordered two Capesize bulk carriers from Hengli Heavy Industries and currently operates 33 vessels.
In 2026, the newbuilding market for MR product tankers showed strong performance. According to data from Xclusiv Shipbrokers, as of late July, global shipowners had ordered 104 MR2 product tankers, making this ship type the second most popular tanker class after VLCCs. Currently, the ratio of orders to fleet size has exceeded 17%, while the average age of the fleet is over 12.5 years.