Norden teams up with Diamond S Shipping in product tanker consolidation drive

Tanker shipping majors Norden and Diamond S Shipping Inc. have created a strategic partnership, DiaNor, that will see the two companies’ product tanker fleets consolidate.

Under the arrangement, Diamond S will initially contribute 28 medium range (MR2) product tankers to the endeavour, which will be marketed and operated through the Norient Product Pool (NPP).

Diamond S also intends to contribute its existing in-house commercial expertise in the product tanker space to the global network of NPP.

Pro forma the contribution of DiaNor ships, the Norient Product Pool will manage approximately 150 tankers and become one of the largest operators of medium range (MR) product tankers in the world, the duo said.

“We are pleased to further continue the much-needed consolidation of the tanker industry. The DiaNor partnership is an exciting new chapter for Diamond S. We believe it will create substantial value for both our shareholders and our customers.

“We have worked with Norden and NPP in the past and believe that they represent a state-of-the-art, world-class commercial organisation. Adding our considerable capabilities to their extensive network should produce a clear leader in the product tanker space,” Craig Stevenson Jr., CEO & President of Diamond S, said.

The management of the combined fleet of around 90 MR2 product tankers will be handled from NORDEN’s existing office locations in the U.S., Singapore and Denmark and become one of the largest within the segment.

Greenwich-based Diamond S Shipping owns and operates 66 vessels on the water, making it one of the largest energy shipping companies providing seaborne transportation of crude oil and refined petroleum products in the international shipping markets. 

Danish Norden operates a fleet of around 400 dry cargo and product tanker vessels from its 11 worldwide offices. It provides commercial management to other product tanker companies through the fully owned Norient Product Pool, which operates approximately 150 ships within the Handysize and MR product tanker segments, following the partnership with Diamond S Shipping Inc.