Okeanis Eco Tankers drawing investors
Greece’s Okeanis Eco Tankers Corporation is evolving into an international investment platform after its listing on the New York Stock Exchange in December, thanks to an impressive performance even compared to all fellow listed tanker companies.
The firm’s shares began trading on December 11 on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “ECO,” with founder Ioannis Alafouzos ringing the opening bell on January 26 for the start of trading.
This constitutes parallel trading, as the company’s shares have also been traded on the Oslo Stock Exchange since 2018.
Listing on the NYSE allows Okeanis to expand its investment reach and facilitate its vision to become the listed crude oil tanker platform of choice for investors worldwide. It has a fleet of 14 tankers, the youngest of any other listed tanker company, including six modern Suezmax tankers and eight modern VLCCs.
Over the past year, Okeanis Eco Tankers is expected to have posted the highest figures in its history, with turnover set at $413 million, up from $271 million in 2022.
According to provisional results reported, in the last quarter of 2023, the company had revenue of $91.67 million from its fleet operations. Voyage expenses amounted to $32.23 million in Q4.
In the last three months of 2023, Okeanis Eco Tankers’ fleet vessels were active for a total of 1,288 days, while the daily time charter equivalent (TCE) index, which represents net revenue by sailing days, was $45,300 per day.
Also, based on preliminary estimates, during the fourth quarter, the company places the estimated daily TCE across the fleet at approximately $45,300 per vessel per operating day. For VLCC tankers it expects the TCE index to be $45,200 per operating day and $45,500 (per day) for Suezmax tankers.
Okeanis is also regarded as a pioneer in the industry’s effort to reduce CO2 emissions. It stands out in global shipping’s green transition as it focuses on ships of the future that are built according to ECO standards and consume less fuel than conventional tankers. Its ships are equipped with exhaust gas cleaning systems and are built to comply with ballast cleaning systems (known as scrubbers).
According to Okeanis Eco Tankers’ plan, in the coming years its vessels will trade mostly in the spot market, with the company benefiting from the strong tanker market and the lower cost of fuel oil due to its “green” fleet which is equipped with state-of-the-art exhaust gas cleaning systems (known as scrubbers).
Also, in view of the purchase of tankers in the medium term, Okeanis Eco Tankers has placed its vessels in the spot market representing 100% of the available capacity of its fleet.
Okeanis Eco Tankers is considered a pioneer in ocean shipping’s effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. It stands out in the global shipping industry’s green transition effort as it focuses on ships of the future that are built according to ECO standards and consume less fuel than conventional tankers. Its ships are equipped with exhaust gas cleaning systems and are built to comply with ballast cleaning systems. To this end, in spring 2022 the company signed its first loan with a sustainability clause that includes specific sustainability goals.
“Sustainability is at the heart of our business. We have taken significant steps to contribute to our industry’s efforts to achieve a zero carbon footprint. Our new fleet is able to comply with the upcoming Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) and Carbon Intensity Index (CII) regulations. We expect that these regulations will have a significant impact on the tanker fleet, forcing owners of older tonnage to make the appropriate modifications, which will lead to additional costs” states the CEO of Okeanis Eco Tankers Aristidis Alafouzos in the ESG criteria report.
