Metrostar stalls delivery of Suezmaxes

Metrostar Management in Greece has further mitigated its exposure to a hefty newbuilding orderbook after the cancellation last year of 10 handysize bulkers at troubled South Korean shipbuilder Jinse. In the new move, the Theodore Angelopoulos-controlled group has negotiated delays to the last two units in a series of Suezmax tankers under construction by Hyundai Samho.

Metrostar, which is due to take delivery of the third of the seven 165,000 dwt vessels next week, confirmed that it will now take the sixth and seventh vessels, to be named Crude Zita and Crude Ita, in June and December 2011.

The new delivery dates are a full year later than the original delivery schedules. A source close to the Athens-based shipping company said that “everything else” in the orderbook, which includes two VLCCs this year and next year from Hyundai Heavy Industries, “is on track”.

Metrostar also has eight 35,000 dwt bulkers on order from SPP Shipbuilding in South Korea, the first of which was scheduled for handover in May. Cancellation of the lion’s share of its initial 16-handysize programme at fellow Korean yard Jinse came to light six months ago. Together with the sale to Turkish buyers of the first two vessels in the series, it trimmed Metrostar’s interest in the project to just four of the 32,000 dwt bulkers.

In addition to its tanker and bulk carrier orders, the company has two deep-water drill ships on order with Hyundai.