Market sources say Vernicos Argonaftis has its sights set on a pair of ten-year-old units controlled by a top European operator but wouldn’t identify the candidates by name.
Observers believe this means prior plans to purchase a pair of newbuildings from a Chinese yard may have been thrown on the backburner, at least for now.
Contacts with close ties to the Vernicos clan claim the company had been in talks with Chinese lenders but note the process of securing financing from institutions like the Export-Import bank of China can be time consuming.
They note the timing of another expansion drive doesn’t come as a surprise given recent regulations that require the use of twin-screw and tractor tugs at many Hellenic oil refineries, which give the owner and its joint venture with compatriot Zouros Maritime a leg up on the competition.
Vernicos, which is led by managing director George C Vernicos and CEO Christos Yemitzoglou, controls nearly two dozen towage and salvage tugs that service Northern Greece and other regions where offshore drilling is underway in addition to conventional work with boxships, bulkers, tankers and cruiseships.
When the operator made TradeWinds headlines late last year Vernicos Zouros paid an estimated $3m to pick up the 4,800-hp Vagia II (built 1998) from Fairplay Towage of Germany. Sources say the combined cost of two modern terminal tugs may be in the same region.
