UNITED OVERSEAS GROUP
LEADERS IN CHEMICAL SHIPPING
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UNITED OVERSEAS GROUP LTD
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I PROFILE
United Overseas Group Ltd provides transportation services for refined petroleum products, chemicals and crude oil. Based in Athens, the company owns and operates a fleet of 21 product and chemical tankers. Antonios Vrondissis, Managing Director, told Hannah Barnett more about the diversity of the company’s ventures. ith a large fleet of tankers
W
The value of experience
following a worldwide
UOG was established in November 2020.
trading pattern, United
In March 2021, the company completed
Overseas Management (UOG) main-
a reverse merger with United Arab
tains the highest standards in order
Chemical Carriers Limited Dubai, resulting
to uphold its strong presence in the
in UOG controlling UACC and its fleet.
marine market.
It may be a relatively new company,
“The whole fleet provides valued
but UOG benefits from the expertise of
services to customers by focusing on
its principals, industry veterans Peter
safeguarding human life, protecting
Georgiopoulos and Leonidas Vrondissis.
the environment, promoting safety
Their combined experience means the
and transparently setting quality
company is in safe hands.
and energy objectives,” Managing
“Peter and Leo are veterans in the ship-
Director Antonios Vrondissis said.
ping industry,” said Mr Vrondissis. “They
Nine of UOG’s 21 vessels are pure
have completed multiple transactions, in
chemical carriers with coated cargo
both the private and public markets, with
tanks and the capacity to load
a combined value of over $20 billion.
and carry water-white standard
“Peter Georgiopoulos founded, ran and
chemical cargoes. The company
chaired some of the most successful
also commercially manages a fleet
shipping companies in the world including
of four long-range oil tankers and
General Maritime Corporation and Genco
eight medium-range oil and chem-
Shipping and Trading Ltd. General
ical tankers.
Maritime’s successor company Gener8
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UNITED OVERSEAS GROUP LTD
I PROFILE
merged with Euronav in 2018, creating the
Based in Athens and Dubai, the new venture
largest public tanker company in the
will charter-in/out dry bulk vessels, enter
world. This experience guides UOG’s
into contracts of affreightment and utilise
strategy and commitment towards excel-
hedging solutions, including forward freight
lence. So, while we may be private, we’re
agreements and bunker hedging. UOG has
run like a listed company, and are very
also incorporated a dry-bulk trading com-
transparent. I believe this sets us apart.”
pany, focusing on the larger vessel sizes
The UOG fleet is technically and com-
and chartering cargoes. The company
mercially managed by United Overseas
intends to continue to expand this segment
Management Hellas (UOM Hellas), an affili-
of the business going forward.
ated company of UOG. The ships are then outsourced to various technical man-
Innovative equipment
agers, including 16 vessels technically
In addition to its shipping activities, UOG’s
managed by renowned ship management
principals have also invested in maritime
company Synergy Marine Group. The
technology SeaARCTOS, which gathers
chemical tanker fleet is on a long-term
and develops real-time intelligence to
charter to a subsidiary of Aramco and the
enable meaningful emissions monitoring.
product tankers largely operate in the
The technology is designed to help com-
spot market or under short-term charter.
panies report emissions data in order to fulfil
UOG recently established United Overseas Trading LLC, a dry bulk operating platform.
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regulatory obligations and counter climate change. SeaARCTOS was developed to
tunities, real savings in terms of port turnarounds, efficiencies in operation, monitor the 97% of a vessel’s emissions
preferential treatment, beneficial rates
caused by the main engine; mostly in deep,
and consequently, active management
international waters, out of sight of any
of climate change.
enforcement agency. The ARCTOS-1 device is a revolutionary
“SeaARCTOS enables the shipping industry to be both fiscally and environmentally
sensor attached to the top of a vessel’s
responsible,” said Mr Vrondissis.
exhaust stack which independently
“In fact, studies have shown that a clear
monitors carbon dioxide, methane and
and defined ESG strategy generates
sulphur dioxide levels.
long-term financial opportunities for
“The significance of SeaARCTOS and
sustainable growth and success.”
ARCTOS-1 goes beyond UOG’s interests,” Mr Vrondissis explained. “We believe
High standards
that compliance leads to commercial
Like any successful company, upholding
improvements and that real measure-
the highest standards remains vital for
ment equals real management.”
UOG. An incorporated management
ARCTOS-1’s accurate, real-time analysis enables ship owners, managers, charterers, financiers and others to monitor at any time, from any place, their vessel emissions. SeaARCTOS enables an inexpensive and straightforward way to reduce global emissions and is easy to install and maintain. The resulting transparency serves as a beacon of change to the market, which in turn results in greater business oppor-
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UNITED OVERSEAS GROUP LTD
I PROFILE
system for the whole fleet maintains
adding younger and more environmen-
ISO 9001 quality management, ISO 14001
tally friendly vessels.
environmental management, ISO 45001
UOG works closely with its vendors,
occupational health and safety and ISM
customers and other stakeholders. All
code requirements.
aspects of the operation are based on the
“The company has first-class fleet
company’s five guiding principles. These
managers,” Mr Vrondissis said. “They all share a vision of integrity, safety and transparency, in strict compliance with regulations, to minimise the environmental footprint of our vessels.”
United Overseas Group’s five guiding principles:
The company uses integrated models for emission compliance with the Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) and Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) and has set a strategy to improve its performance in these categories. Additionally, UOG has a target to renew its fleet gradually over forthcoming years,
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Responsibility Reliability Honesty Excellence Ownership and Commitment
ensure that UOG knows and accepts the
time charters for two of them whilst
consequences of its decisions.
trading one in the spot market.
“The five guiding principles show that
With so much going on at UOG, for
we strive to provide a safe, timely
Mr Vrondissis, there is no better company
delivery of goods at the highest level of
or industry to be part of.
quality achievable,” Mr Vrondissis said.
“My family has four generations in
“We expect, and value, open communica-
shipping,” he concluded. “It runs in our
tion and integrity, whilst continually
blood. My father was a captain, as were
pursuing excellence through hard work
my two grandfathers. My daughter works
and self-improvement.”
in chartering in Athens too. Shipping has
The company is always looking for new
something for everybody: it provides
investment opportunities, analysing
opportunities in multiple disciplines like
trends and exploring opportunities. On
HR, insurance, law. Personally, I get a lot
the asset-owning side, it recently raised
of satisfaction from creating a system
equity in the Norwegian KS market for the
that not only works, but is efficient, safe
purchase of three second-hand product
and compliant. I can’t imagine doing
tankers; locking-in attractive, long-term,
anything else.”
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