Transpetrol is an independent, fully integrated, ship owning company with a history stretching back over 40 years. We have a truly international workforce of around 30 employees on shore and a dedicated pool of approximately 400 seafarers serving clients around the globe.
Founded in 1980, 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.
In 2002, a ship management division was established in a joint venture with ITM (then part of the Wilh. Wilhelmsen Group) to provide in-house ship management services. This division subsequently became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Transpetrol group in 2005, managing group-controlled tonnage exclusively, and named Transpetrol TM AS (ISM Code DOC Holder).
In 2009, the company ventured into the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) market with two newbuildings of 80,000 cubic metres capacity each, a class commonly known as very large gas carrier (VLGC). Today, the VLGC segment represents an integral part of the fleet composition.