Laskaridis doubles Hengli LR2 order to four vessels

Thanassis Laskaridis has doubled his LR2 tanker newbuilding commitment at China’s Hengli Heavy Industries to four 114,000-dwt vessels after ordering two for 2028 delivery.

The Greek owner’s latest pair follows two 114,000-dwt LR2s agreed in late 2025 for 2027 delivery. Together, the orders create a two-year LR2 delivery run at Hengli and take Laskaridis’s combined tanker fleet and orderbook to 10 vessels. The expansion changes the scale and timing of his wet-fleet exposure, although none of the new ships can add freight capacity before their scheduled deliveries.

How did the Hengli program expand?

Laskaridis built his relationship with Hengli through an extensive kamsarmax bulk carrier construction program before entering the VLCC newbuilding segment at the Chinese yard in 2025. He then shifted that relationship toward a staged LR2 program:

• Late 2025: Laskaridis agreed to build two 114,000-dwt LR2 tankers at Hengli, with both vessels due in 2027.
• 2028 deliveries: The latest contracts cover two additional 114,000-dwt LR2s, taking the yard commitment to four vessels.
• Current position: The four-ship program gives Laskaridis two announced delivery years at one Chinese builder, with the first pair arriving before the second.

Before adding the latest LR2s, Laskaridis’s group exited two VLCC newbuilding positions. Commodities trading and shipping group Trafigura subsequently acquired those vessels. That sequence matters: Laskaridis did not expand across every tanker class. He reduced his exposure to the largest tankers and redirected part of his tanker investment toward product and aframax segments.

The latest agreement extends that shift beyond the two LR2 deliveries already scheduled for 2027. It also shows how Laskaridis uses Hengli across several vessel classes: an established bulk carrier relationship preceded a 2025 VLCC entry, two LR2s for 2027 and now two more for 2028.

A 10-vessel wet-fleet mix

Laskaridis’s group operates through Alimia Shipping and Alimia Tankers, while Laskaridis Tankers manages its growing wet fleet. Its combined tanker fleet and orderbook now comprises 10 vessels, split evenly between 49,800-dwt MR2 product tankers and LR2s.

That split means five vessels fall into each grouping. The disclosed 10-vessel tally contains no separate VLCC, reflecting the group’s exit from the two newbuilding positions that Trafigura acquired.

The fleet-and-orderbook total also needs careful reading. It does not show how many vessels already carry cargo and how many await delivery. The 2027 and 2028 LR2s belong to future capacity, not the active fleet available to shippers and forwarders now.

What does this change for shippers and forwarders?

The immediate commercial effect is limited. The orders do not change current vessel availability, charter rates or freight rates because the first two LR2s will not deliver until 2027, and the latest pair will follow in 2028. The disclosed terms also omit charter arrangements, cargo nominations, port calls and trade-lane assignments, so they do not support a numerical rate forecast.

• For shippers: More LR2 tonnage could eventually increase vessel choice and add price competition on the routes where Laskaridis deploys the ships. The benefit depends on deployment; the announcement identifies no lane or cargo contract.
• For carriers and owners: Laskaridis now has four Hengli LR2s split between 2027 and 2028 deliveries, giving the group a defined wet-fleet renewal pipeline. Rival operators cannot infer lane-level supply until the owner confirms how it will employ those ships.
• For forwarders: The program belongs on a 2027-28 capacity watchlist, not among vessels available for current tenders. Forwarders should seek deployment details before treating the four LR2s as confirmed options for a specific cargo movement.

The underlying signal is a change in asset mix rather than a broad tanker-ordering surge. Two exited VLCC positions, a four-vessel LR2 commitment and a 10-ship fleet and orderbook show Laskaridis concentrating his tanker investment in smaller product and aframax-linked tonnage while extending deliveries through 2028. The move gives his group future capacity, but it does not yet signal an immediate freight-rate reset on any named route.

Through 2028, the key watchpoint is whether Laskaridis assigns the four Hengli LR2s to specific trade lanes and on what charter terms; until those choices emerge, the orderbook raises the owner’s future LR2 exposure without establishing a market-wide capacity or rate effect.