Greek major Minerva swoops for newbuild Suezmax pair with cancelled delivery history

The major Greek shipowner revealed on its website that on 20 April it took delivery from South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) of Minerva Kallirroi and Minerva Kalliope.

Based on their IMO numbers, the vessels are 157,000-dwt Suezmax tankers previously known as Advantage Summit and Bhanu 1, respectively.

The two vessels, built under hull numbers 2666 and 2667, were originally ordered in 2023 by a mysterious Oceania-based shipowner.

SHI disclosed in February that one of the two tankers had been cancelled after the shipowner failed to make the final installment payment. A month later, the shipbuilder terminated the remaining contract, citing non-payment and exercising its contractual right to end the agreement.

SHI stated it intended to cover construction costs and related losses using advance payments already received, as well as proceeds from the sale of the vessels to a third party.

In a subsequent development on 7 April, SHI noted that “the creditor alleges that the company’s termination of the contract is unjustified and has filed an application for a provisional disposition seeking to prohibit the disposal of the vessel and the transfer of possession thereof pending the arbitral award.”

The shipbuilder, however, maintained that its termination was valid and that the claims lacked legal merit.

According to SHI, the two vessels were ordered by Dubai-based Meritron DMCC.

Notably, the entity was sanctioned on 15 April by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which described it as a front company linked to Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani’s network and used to facilitate the transport of sanctioned Iranian petroleum products.

OFAC said that between 2025 and 2026 Meritron had sought to acquire two newbuild vessels from South Korea on behalf of the network, replacing a previously designated entity (Teodor Shipping) in the transaction and contributing tens of millions of dollars toward construction costs.

Tanker investment rally

With the latest additions, Minerva Marine now operates a fleet of 53 tankers, according to information on its website.

The Greek owner has been particularly active this year in Suezmax and Aframax segments. Last month, it acquired 2018-built, 112,532-dwt Minerva Pelagia (formerly Green Attitude). 

The company has also placed orders at China’s Hengli Heavy Industries for both tanker classes and has additional Aframaxes under construction at New Times Shipbuilding.

Minerva’s bulk carrier and container arm, Minerva Dry, has also remained active across secondhand and newbuilding markets, and is currently listed with a fleet of 20 vessels.