The reconfiguration of the market for small tanker and bunkering vessels in Europe has undergone a strategic shift following the exit of the South Korean SK Shipping from this segment. The commodity trading giant Mercuria, owner of Minerva, based in the port of Las Palmas and operating since 2026 in Mauritania, in alliance with a group of shipping companies from Greece and Cyprus, has completed the acquisition of a series of petroleum product tankers, taking advantage of the active withdrawal of the Asian operator, which recently also divested ten of its very large crude carriers (VLCCs) in favor of Pan Ocean.
At least four specialized vessels have changed hands in recent weeks. MM Marine, the Hellenic naval management division integrated into Mercuria Energy Group, has formally assumed ownership of the Gaia (a fuel transfer vessel built in 2015 with a deadweight of 7,709 tons) and the Thalia (a chemical tanker of 5,734 tons built in 2009). Both assets, previously operated as B. Sun and B. Star, are already positioned in the strategic area of the Strait of Gibraltar. Their commercial operation has been assigned to Minerva Bunkering, a subsidiary of Mercuria that leads the distribution of marine fuels in the major customs nodes of southern Europe.
This dual acquisition aligns with the aggressive expansion campaign that Mercuria is executing in the tanker sector, combining the acquisition of second-hand tonnage with newbuilding orders. The current portfolio of MM Marine manages a fleet close to 70 units, ranging from Newcastlemax bulk carriers to large vessels such as Aframax, Suezmax, and VLCC. The deployment of the new ships in Gibraltar coincides with the executive appointment of Tyler Baron as the new CEO of Minerva Bunkering. Baron will manage globally from Geneva with the goal of accelerating physical supply solutions under the new standards and structural regulations imposed by international environmental legislation.
On the other hand, the Greek firm Seaven Tanker Management has entered the operation by acquiring the B. Ocean, a chemical tanker of 5,692 tons built in 2009, which has been immediately renamed Seaven Ocean. With this addition, the Hellenic owner raises its operational fleet to 13 tanker vessels dedicated to the distribution of refined and chemical products in the commercial circuits of the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and Northern Europe, an activity that is complemented by its bulk cement transport subsidiary.
The role of Cyprus in fuel supply
The third relevant actor in the asset distribution has been Island Oil, a marine fuel marketing company based in Limassol (Cyprus). The firm has taken control of the supply vessel Island Polaris (formerly B. Pacific, with a deadweight of 7,711 tons). In parallel, Island Oil has strengthened its logistics capacity with the receipt of the Island Horizon, a state-of-the-art tanker built this year with nearly 8,000 tons of capacity, which belonged to the multinational Vitol under the name Marine Future. With these moves, Island Oil’s fleet reaches 12 operational units dedicated exclusively to bunkering supply, consolidating the presence of southern European shipowners against the major global traders and leaving SK Shipping with only two small residual vessels in its liquid asset balance.
