Transpetrol was founded in 1979. The company’s original activity was physical oil trading. In 1986,
the company placed its first newbuilding order with Hyundai Heavy Industries. In the late eighties, when electronic trading of oil was fast becoming the norm, the company decided to cease its oil trading activities and focus exclusively on shipping.
In February 1990, at a time when publicly listed shipping companies were still relatively rare, the company launched Benor Tankers Limited (Oslo Stock Exchange), which it managed until delisting in 2000.
Privately held since 2000, the company has focused on wet bulk only. Commercial management of the fleet has been handled from Brussels, Belgium since the mid-1980’s.
In house ship management activities were added in 2002, first in the form of a joint venture and later as a fully owned subsidiary, based in Asker (near Oslo), Norway.
In 2009, the company ventured into the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) market with two newbuildings of 80,000 cubic metres cargo capacity, a class commonly known as very large gas carrier (VLGC). Today, the VLGC segment represents an integral part of the fleet. During the past 40 years the company regularly placed orders for new vessels, while it divested older tonnage in the fleet.
Today, Transpetrol is an independent, fully integrated, shipowning company with a history stretching back nearly 50 years. We are focused exclusively on the safe transportation of oil, refined petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas. The company’s fleet consists of modern ships all built by leading shipyards. We have a truly international workforce of around 25 employees on shore and a dedicated pool of approximately 500 seafarers serving clients around the globe.
