Greece’s tanker shipowner Top Ships has entered into an agreement with an entity affiliated with the company’s chief executive Evangelos J. Pistiolis to acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of nine Marshall Islands companies (the SPVs), counterparties to ship building contracts for nine very-high specification 47,499-dwt medium range (MR) product/chemical oil tankers with Guangzhou Shipyard International Company Limited, scheduled for delivery during 2028 and 2029.

To remind, TOP Ships on Feb. 18 entered into a share purchase agreement with Central Mare Inc., an affiliate of the company’s chief executive officer, to purchase 500 registered shares of each of Roman Shark I Inc., Roman Shark II Inc., Roman Shark III Inc., Roman Shark IV Inc., Roman Shark V Inc., Roman Shark VI Inc., Roman Shark VII Inc., Roman Shark VIII Inc., and Roman Shark X Inc. (the SPVs), representing all of the issued and outstanding shares of the SPVs.

Each of the SPVs has entered into a shipbuilding contract, dated February 3, 2026, with Guangzhou Shipyard International Company Limited and China Shipbuilding Trading Co., Ltd. for the purchase of nine 47,499-dwt chemical/product oil carrier each.

The ship building contracts’ effectiveness is subject to the issuance of customary refund guarantees and the acquisition of the SPVs is subject to conclusion of financing arrangements.

The company has agreed to acquire the shares of all SPVs for an aggregate purchase price of about $41m. According to TOP Ships, the transaction was approved by a special committee composed of independent members of the company’s board of directors – due to the related party nature of the acquisition.

The entity affiliated with the company’s CEO Pistiolis has also secured time charter employment with a major oil trader, for all vessels, starting from their delivery and for a firm duration of seven years, with charterer’s option to extend for four additional years.

The total potential gross revenue backlog from these contracts, including optional years, is about $679m.