Greece’s Cape Shipping has taken delivery of its first tanker newbuilding, marking a shift back into oil shipping even as it prunes older container assets. Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding handed over the 114,000-dwt Aframax/LR2 CAPE TAINARON on 3 September.
The conventionally fueled tanker, hull H1594, is classed by ABS and measures 249.95 m LOA, 44.0 m beam, 21.2 m depth, with design draft 13.5 m and design speed 14.5 knots. It is powered by a MAN B&W 6G60ME-C10.5 engine meeting IMO Tier III standards. AIS-based vessel directories already list the ship under Marshall Islands flag with 114,000 dwt and ~62,800 gt.
Although this is the first tanker newbuilding delivered directly to Cape Shipping, it is not the company’s first tanker in service. Earlier this year the Andrianopoulos-family company re-entered the segment by acquiring two MR2s initially ordered by fellow Greek owner Evalend Shipping — the Cape Avanti (built 2025) and Cape Andiamo (built 2024) — with technical management assigned to Prime Marine.
Market and shipyard reports point to a sister LR2 at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (reportedly to be named CAPE ANTIBES) and additional LR1/Aframax/Suezmax berths across Chinese yards with deliveries stretching to 2027.
CSSC (Tianjin) Shipbuilding, separately, began construction on a 115,000-dwt product tanker for Cape Shipping on 6 January 2025, with a second unit in the series reaching a mid-build milestone in July.
Cape Shipping has sold three of its oldest boxships, with CMA CGM emerging as the buyer. The French line (via its CNC unit and mainline fleet) has taken the 2015-built Cape Monterey (now CNC Padma), 2016-built Cape Araxos (now CMA CGM Fuji) and 2017-built Cape Quest (now CMA CGM Quest). Broker reporting in June put the Cape Quest price at around US$35m, consistent with contemporaneous vessel-valuation notes, while earlier accounts suggested Cape Monterey changed hands near US$35m, implying a single-digit-million gain versus its original newbuild cost.
Cape Shipping S.A. is a privately owned Athens-based shipowner/manager founded in 1987 and led by the Andrianopoulos family. The company operates 15 ships, comprising seven bulk carriers and eight container vessels.
Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS) is a part of China State Shipbuilding Corporation.