Economou sells Heidmar tanker pool to Khanna

Tanker pooling and commercial management company Heidmar has been acquired by its CEO Pankaj Khanna from Greek billionaire shipowner George Economou.

As informed, Khanna has acquired 100% of the shares of Heidmar and all related companies — including but not limited to Heidmar Trading LLC.

George Economou, any and all of his related parties or affiliates have no interest whatsoever in Heidmar or any related company going forward, the company said.

No financial details on the transaction have been unveiled.

“I am pleased to announce the acquisition of Heidmar, a brand that is well known in the industry with a 36-year history in providing … services to the shipping industry,” Khanna, the new sole shareholder of Heidmar, commented.

“I am excited about the next phase in the redevelopment of Heidmar, which has a well-recognized pedigree, a widespread network and provides a strong platform to leverage off.”

Last year, Greek ship owner and operator DryShips, controlled by Economou, became the sole owner of Heidmar, appointing Khanna as CEO. Previously, Pankaj Khanna served as CEO at Ocean Rig.

In January 2020, Heidmar and Singal Maritime Service entered into a partnership for the commercial management of the tanker fleet.

“Since last winter’s joint venture with Signal Maritime on Aframax tankers, we have been quietly rebuilding the pooling and commercial management platform focusing on Suezmaxes, VLCCs and LR2s, and as of today we manage 15 tankers, having recently brought onboard a couple of vessels,” Khanna continued.

He also revealed plans to rebuild Heidmar as a focused services company, specializing in the commercial management of tankers.

“In the long-term, the industry faces many challenges ranging from de-carbonization and ESG responsibilities, disparate and stricter regulations, charterer consolidation and lack of bank financing to name a few.”

“This offers opportunities to expand our service offerings thereby helping our customers in responding to and getting ahead of these challenges,” Khanna further said.