Greek owner Aegean Shipping Management has exercised an option for a second very large crude carrier (VLCC) at Hengli Heavy Industry shipyard in China, lifting its total newbuilding orderbook there to three LR2 tankers and two VLCCs. The company, controlled by Giorgos Melissanidis, first ordered a VLCC at Hengli when the deal was announced at the opening of Posidonia 2026, marking its entry into the super-tanker segment alongside its existing LR2 tanker business. Alongside the fleet expansion, Aegean has agreed to sell the 2022-built LR2 tanker Green Adventure, constructed at Cosco Yangzhou’s shipyards in China, for $83m. In early March the company also sold the 112,600-dwt aframax tanker Green Attitude, built in 2018, for a reported $71m, according to shipbroker sources. Aegean’s investment strategy remains focused exclusively on newbuilding orders. Its mixed fleet, comprising tankers and bulk carriers, currently totals 21 vessels, with an average age below three years. Including ships under construction, the company’s carrying capacity has reached 2.5 million tonnes. The company is also in the midst of a delivery cycle for new tankers. In late July it took delivery of the LR2 tanker Green Liberty from COSCO Yangzhou Shipyard, the first of four such vessels scheduled to join the fleet over the coming months.