Istanbul-listed refiner Tupras (IST: TUPRS) has commissioned the building in South Korea of four Suezmax-class crude oil tankers for more than $370mn, the company said on July 31.

The four vessels, each featuring a deadweight tonnage (DWT) of approximately 157,000 tonnes, are scheduled for delivery during 2029.

Two from Daehan for $185mn

On July 27, Daehan Shipbuilding (Seoul/439260) said that it had secured a contract to build two 157,000-DWT Suezmax tankers worth about $184.6mn from an unnamed European owner, with deliveries scheduled by December 2029.

Industry publication Riviera Maritime quoted unnamed shipbroking and market sources as saying that Ditas was behind the order.

Ditas Denizcilik is the maritime shipping unit of Turkey’s largest conglomerate Koc Holding (KCHOL.IS). Tupras is also a unit of the holding.

Having already achieved its annual order target ahead of schedule within 1Q, Daehan has secured around $1.53bn worth of contracts on an annual basis, including the latest deal, marking the highest order volume since its establishment.

With the latest agreement, the shipbuilder’s cumulative orders for the year have increased to 17 vessels, while its order backlog has grown to 36 vessels.

Second-hand Chinese Aframax for $90mn

The latest four-vessel investment follows Ditas’ recent addition of the Aframax-class T. Riva tanker, built in China with 115,000 tonnes of capacity, to its fleet. That delivery established Ditas as the owner of the largest Turkish-flagged tanker fleet.

Riviera reported that the second-hand T. Riva was subject to construction work at a CSSC subsidiary and was scheduled for delivery later this year. Unnamed shipbrokers reported that the resale transaction was agreed at about $90mn.

Two from Samsung for $186mn

On August 3, Samsung Heavy Industries (Seoul/010140) disclosed a contract from an unnamed European owner for the construction of two crude oil tankers valued at around $186mn, with deliveries scheduled through August 2029. 

Riviera reported shipbroking and market sources identified Ditas as the owner behind the deal.

Another second-hand vessel for $40mn

In 2025, Ditas acquired the 2020-built MR2 tanker T Kilyos, formerly known as Eden, for a price reported to be in excess of $40mn.

Oil refining in Turkey

Ditas has five crude oil tankers with a combined capacity of 520,000 tonnes. In all, it has 19 vessels in its fleet with a combined capacity of 839,000 tonnes.

With an aggregate annual processing capacity of 30mn tonnes of crude oil across its four refineries in Izmit, Izmir, Kirikkale and Batman, Tupras stands as Europe’s seventh-largest refining operator and Turkey’s largest industrial producer by sales volume.

Turkey has two oil refiners. The second, STAR Refinery, launched in 2018 by Azerbaijan-owned Socar Turkey, has a capacity of 13mn tonnes/year.

Tupras sourced 31 distinct grades of crude oil from 16 different countries across North America, West Africa, the Middle East and the North Sea basin in 2025.

The company exports refined products across Europe, North Africa and the Atlantic basin. Owning dedicated high-capacity vessels will bolster its export competitiveness against Gulf and Asian refining majors over the coming decade.

LPG vessel purchases by Aygaz

In April, Aygaz (AYGAZ), another Koc unit, signed a shipbuilding contract with South Korea’s HD Hyundai Samho for the construction of two liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) transportation vessels. It will pay up to $117mn for each vessel, meaning up to $234mn in total. Each vessel will have a capacity of 90,000 cubic metres.

In January, Aygaz signed an earlier contract with HD Hyundai for the construction of a VLGC with a capacity of 52,000 tonnes (93,000 cubic metres). It will pay $119mn for the vessel in instalments.

In 2024, Aygaz acquired an MGC (medium-size gas carrier) LPG vessel from UK-based Spires Marine for a consideration of $59mn.