Performance eyes more acquisitions

TANKER owner Performance Shipping has said that it is aiming to identify further acquisitions for its fleet, as it begins to take delivery of its current newbuilding programme.

On Thursday, the Nasdaq-listed company took delivery of its first long range two aframax newbuilding in a ceremony at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding.

The 114,000 dwt, LNG-ready, scrubber-fitted aframax begins a five-year charter to Gunvor Group affiliate Clearlake.

The vessel kicks off a series of deliveries that are scheduled to include two sister LR2s, also chartered to Clearlake for five years, by early 2026 and one LR1 tanker in early 2027.

Greece-based Performance was “committed to executing its fleet renewal and expansion strategy, aiming to acquire a younger, more competitive, and environmentally sustainable fleet”, said chief executive Andreas Michalopoulos.

The intention was to achieve this through a combination of the “well-supported” newbuilding programme and selective acquisitions of secondhand vessels.

Michalopoulos said that company financial resources, strengthened in July by its successful $100m Nordic bond issue, gave it “significant liquidity” for acquisitions.

Second-quarter results posted this week saw Performance scoring an average time charter rate per day for the period of $32,295, beating the year-ago daily average of $30,970 per vessel.

The owner reported net income for the quarter of $9.1m versus $10.2m in last year’s second quarter, while revenue also decreased slightly, from $20.5m in 2024 to $18.1m in the latest quarter.

This was attributed to a decrease in fleet capacity due to the sale of one of its tankers in March this year.