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. “The whole fleet provides valued
It may be a relatively new company, but UOG benefits from the expertise of its
services to customers by focusing on
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 largest public tanker company in the world. This experience guides UOG’s
UOG recently established United Overseas
strategy and commitment towards excel-
Trading LLC, a dry bulk operating platform.
lence. So, while we may be private, we’re
Based in Athens and Dubai, the new venture
run like a listed company, and are very
will charter-in/out dry bulk vessels, enter
transparent. I believe this sets us apart.”
into contracts of affreightment and utilise
The UOG fleet is technically and com-
hedging solutions, including forward freight
mercially managed by United Overseas
agreements and bunker hedging. UOG has
Management Hellas (UOM Hellas), an affili-
also incorporated a dry-bulk trading com-
ated company of UOG. The ships are then
pany, focusing on the larger vessel sizes
outsourced to various technical man-
and chartering cargoes. The company
agers, including 16 vessels technically
intends to continue to expand this segment
managed by renowned ship management
of the business going forward.
company Synergy Marine Group. The chemical tanker fleet is on a long-term
Innovative equipment
charter to a subsidiary of Aramco and the
In addition to its shipping activities, UOG’s
product tankers largely operate in the
principals have also invested in maritime
spot market or under short-term charter.
technology SeaARCTOS, which gathers
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and develops real-time intelligence to enable meaningful emissions monitoring. The technology is designed to help companies report emissions data in order to fulfil regulatory obligations
ARCTOS-1’s accurate, real-time anal-
and counter climate change. SeaARCTOS
ysis enables ship owners, managers,
was developed to monitor the 97% of
charterers, financiers and others to
a vessel’s emissions caused by the
monitor at any time, from any place, their
main engine; mostly in deep, interna-
vessel emissions.
tional waters, out of sight of any enforcement agency.
SeaARCTOS enables an inexpensive and straightforward way to reduce global
The ARCTOS-1 device is a revolutionary
emissions and is easy to install and main-
sensor attached to the top of a vessel’s
tain. The resulting transparency serves as
exhaust stack which independently
a beacon of change to the market, which
monitors carbon dioxide, methane and
in turn results in greater business oppor-
sulphur dioxide levels.
tunities, real savings in terms of port
“The significance of SeaARCTOS and
turnarounds, efficiencies in operation,
ARCTOS-1 goes beyond UOG’s interests,”
preferential treatment, beneficial rates
Mr Vrondissis explained. “We believe
and consequently, active management
that compliance leads to commercial
of climate change.
improvements and that real measurement equals real management.”
“SeaARCTOS enables the shipping industry to be both fiscally and environmentally
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UNITED OVERSEAS GROUP LTD
I PROFILE
responsible,” said Mr Vrondissis.
The company uses integrated models
“In fact, studies have shown that a clear
for emission compliance with the Energy
and defined ESG strategy generates
Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) and
long-term financial opportunities for
Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) and has set
sustainable growth and success.”
a strategy to improve its performance in these categories. Additionally, UOG has
High standards
a target to renew its fleet gradually over
Like any successful company, upholding
forthcoming years, adding younger and
the highest standards remains vital for
more environmentally friendly vessels.
UOG. An incorporated management system for the whole fleet maintains ISO 9001 quality management, ISO 14001 environmental management, ISO 45001
United Overseas Group’s five guiding principles:
occupational health and safety and ISM code requirements. “The company has first-class fleet 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.”
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Responsibility Reliability Honesty Excellence Ownership and Commitment
UOG works closely with its vendors,
purchase of three second-hand product
customers and other stakeholders. All
tankers; locking-in attractive, long-term,
aspects of the operation are based on the
time charters for two of them whilst
company’s five guiding principles. These
trading one in the spot market.
ensure that UOG knows and accepts the consequences of its decisions. “The five guiding principles show that we strive to provide a safe, timely
With so much going on at UOG, for Mr Vrondissis, there is no better company or industry to be part of. “My family has four generations in
delivery of goods at the highest level of
shipping,” he concluded. “It runs in our
quality achievable,” Mr Vrondissis said.
blood. My father was a captain, as were
“We expect, and value, open communica-
my two grandfathers. My daughter works
tion and integrity, whilst continually
in chartering in Athens too. Shipping has
pursuing excellence through hard work
something for everybody: it provides
and self-improvement.”
opportunities in multiple disciplines like
The company is always looking for new
HR, insurance, law. Personally, I get a lot
investment opportunities, analysing
of satisfaction from creating a system
trends and exploring opportunities. On
that not only works, but is efficient, safe
the asset-owning side, it recently raised
and compliant. I can’t imagine doing
equity in the Norwegian KS market for the
anything else.”
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