Greek owner Ionic lines up four tanker newbuilds in Japan

Ionic Greek owner Ionic has ordered four tanker newbuildings at Japanese shipyards as it continues to stick with its long-running focus on Japanese-built tonnage. The Dimitris Sarakakis-led company has lined up a mix of suezmax and aframax tankers, according to Greek media reports citing comments made by the owner to Japanese media. No price or delivery dates have been disclosed. Sarakakis said the move is aimed mainly at fleet renewal rather than expansion, pointing to the need for newer and more efficient vessels as the global tanker fleet continues to age. The latest order keeps Ionic’s newbuilding focus firmly in Japan, where the company has built up both its tanker and dry bulk fleets. Ionic Tankers currently lists seven vessels in operation, made up of six aframaxes and one suezmax, all built at Japanese yards including JMU, Sumitomo, Namura and Tsuneishi. The company’s newest tanker is the 2025-built, 159,120 dwt suezmax Ionic Semeli , delivered by JMU. Meanwhile, Ionic’s dry bulk arm lists 11 vessels, including kamsarmaxes, ultramaxes and supramaxes, built at Japanese yards such as Imabari, Sasebo, Tsuneishi and Mitsui. The company was established in 2013 with the aim of building a medium-sized fleet of modern vessels, and has maintained a steady preference for Japanese-built ships across both the tanker and bulker sectors. Adis Ajdin Adis is an experienced news reporter with a background in finance, media and education. He has written across the spectrum of offshore energy and ocean industries for many years and is a member of International Federation of Journalists. Previously he had written for Navingo media group titles including Offshore Energy, Subsea World News and Marine Energy. Read Next June 23, 2026 CIMC Raffles to build FPSO for Angola project June 23, 2026 Cido linked to VLCC quartet at HD Hyundai June 23, 2026 Metrostar books MR tanker duo in South Korea June 23, 2026 Energy transition report warns of offshore workforce cliff edge June 23, 2026 Scotland awards funds to boost offshore wind skills pipeline