Prominent Greek shipowner Adam Polemis has completed his third major tanker transaction in as many months, acquiring the newbuild LR2 tanker Hesperia Tide from Eastern Pacific Shipping. The deal, reported by multiple shipbrokers, underscores Polemis’s strategy of upgrading his fleet by swapping older tonnage for modern, eco-friendly ships.
The Hesperia Tide, a 115,000 dwt, scrubber-fitted LR2 tanker, was built this year by Zhoushan Changhong and has just completed its delivery phase. According to market sources, New Shipping, Polemis’s privately held shipping firm, paid approximately $71m for the vessel, reinvesting capital generated from the profitable sale of older VLCCs.
The Hesperia Tide acquisition follows two VLCC disposals. In June, New Shipping sold the 300,000 dwt New Tinos, a 2003-built vessel from Universal Shipbuilding, for $37m—a notable return on the $21m paid just seven years earlier. That vessel, now renamed Cesaria, was reflagged to Turkey, though the final buyer remains undisclosed.
In May, Polemis offloaded another vintage VLCC, the New Naxos, to Taiwan’s Prime Marine, where it was renamed Lorian. That vessel fetched $33m, despite being due for dry docking.