The Andrianopoulos family and its Cape Shipping have embarked on their first tanker newbuilding project at two Chinese shipyards.
The Athens-based company is widely reported to have placed orders for two suezmax tankers at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding.
According to brokers in Greece, the deal with the CSSC-affiliated yard is worth approximately $168m with the 158,000 dwt vessels delivering in 2026 and 2027.
Shipbuilding sources suggest that a pair of 115,000 dwt LR2s had also been booked at the same yard at around $66m each, with deliveries in 2025 and 2026, following a letter of intent in December.
Meanwhile, the company has been named as the owner behind orders for a 74,000 dwt product tanker brace at Yangzijiang Shipbuilding in Jiangsu. The newbuilds, costing $54m each, will join Cape Shipping’s fleet in 2027, according to brokers at Intermodal.
Cape Shipping was set up in 1987 and has since mainly focused on the dry cargo sector. The company is listed with a fleet of six bulk carriers and 11 containerships. The last time Cape Shipping ordered newbuilds was in 2018 when it contracted four 2,700 teu boxships at Guangzhou CSSC Longxue Shipbuilding. Shipping databases suggest it once bought a VLCC over 30 years ago.