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MSC Buys Stake in South Korean Tanker Giant Sinokor
Sinokor Has Been Snapping Up Very Large Crude Oil Tankers
MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co. SA, the shipping giant founded by secretive Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte, bought a stake in the South Korean company that has shaken up oil tanker markets lately, the first public acknowledgment of ties between the two firms.Ìý
MSC will take joint control of Sinokor Maritime Co. through a subsidiary, alongside Ga-Hyun Chung, the Korean shipping magnate who previously held full control of the company. Sinokor has beenÌýsnapping upÌývery large crude carriers, giving it unprecedented control over a big share of the global fleet.
The stake was disclosed in a filing on theÌýwebsiteÌýof the Cyprus competition commission. The value of the transaction isn’t known, but Bloomberg and others have reported that entities linked to MSC were revealed to be the ultimate buyers of at least some of the dozens of vessels Sinokor purchased in recent weeks.Ìý
The venture brings together two of the shipping industry’s most secretive and enigmatic figures and has already roiled tanker markets. Aponte, who made his fortune in container shipping, is worth almost $37 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Chung is the deeply private scion of a Korean shipping family, who’s known for his love of challenging subordinates and business partners to arm-wrestling contests.
Some shipping rivals estimate that the venture will eventually control about 150 supertankers, a number that equates to about 40% of the ships that aren’t either sanctioned or already tied up. A number of the company’s vessels have already been booked out at huge rates, brokers said, a sign that the bet is paying off as freight rates surge due to the Iran war.Ìý
MSC ranks No. 9 on theÌýTransport Topics Top 50 list of the largest global freight companies.
