10.04.2008 - Trader buys first tanker
Nigerian oil trader Sol Lueshing is set to launch a new shipping wing after buying its first wholly owned tanker.
The company has bought the 4,000-dwt chemical tanker Avgerinos (built 1981) at an undisclosed price. The ship is set to work on the West African coastal routes.
Company founder Leke Oyinlola says the ship, already renamed the Sol Lueshing , will work under a newly established shipping company called Churi International. Plans are already in place to buy more tonnage.
The company will likely source the extra tonnage from the Piraeus-based shipping community.
Oyinlola, a Nigerian national, entered the oil trades in 2004. His company primarily imports oil products for local consumers. The company already has stakes in another two undisclosed small tankers, which also work the West African coastal trade. Oyinlola plans to liquidate these holdings in the near future.
The Avgerinos is controlled by Asterismos Navigation Corp of Greece, which is closely linked to bulker outfit Tritea Maritime. Asterismos controls another two small 1990s-built chemical tankers.
