Shipowner to equity funds: Stop buying ships

Equity funds that invest in shipping are undermining the market when they only invest in new tonnage. The funds should also look into second hand tonnage, according to the major Greek carrier Tsakos Energy Navigation in Financial Times.

BY LOUISE VOGDRUP-SCHMIDT

Published: 31.03.15 at 11:03

The arrival of equity funds to the shipping industry has been a booster for many desperate carriers over the last five years, but the funds are also contributing to destroying the shipping market, according to the Greek shipowner, Nikolas Tsakos, who is the CEO of the tanker carrier, Tsakos Energy Navigation.

"We welcome private equity in our business. But there are 10,000 second-hand ships. For their own good, it would be better if they invested in second-hand ships, rather than destroying the markets they want to invest in," he says in an interview with Financial Times.

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