Greek shipowner Latsco Shipping has returned to the product tanker newbuilding market after nearly a decade, with sources linking the company to a fresh order at South Korea’s K Shipbuilding.
Shipbuilding players in Athens and Seoul said Latsco, controlled by the Latsis family and led by Paris Kassidokostas-Latsis, is behind a two-ship deal for 50,000 dwt MR vesses, with options for two more.
K Shipbuilding recently confirmed it had secured contracts from a European owner for two 50,000 dwt tankers, pricing each at roughly $46m. The vessels are due for delivery in the first half of 2027 and will be LNG- and methanol-ready.
If confirmed, the move would mark Latsco’s first MR tanker order in nearly a decade. The owner’s product carrier fleet now comprises nearly 10 MRs, excluding the latest newbuilds, and five LR2s, with five more on order.
The move comes as the Latsis family explores shifting privately held product tankers into Nasdaq-listed Euroholdings, where it is the largest shareholder. Euroholdings, a spinoff of Greek boxship owner Euroseas and taken over earlier this year by the Latsis family’s Marla Investments, has already said it will pivot away from container shipping and focus on product tankers.
The last time Latsco signed for product tonnage was in late 2015, when it booked six MRs at about $35.5m each. More recently, the company had been active in containership newbuildings, with 1,900 teu units ordered at Huangpu Wenchong in China.
