Rubico is building a three-vessel expansion pipeline of 47,499-deadweight-ton MR tankers scheduled for delivery during 2029, while planning to divest a 60-meter megayacht under construction as the shipping company concentrates its capital on its core tanker business.
Rubico already owns two of the high-specification MR newbuilds, with deliveries scheduled for the third and fourth quarters of 2029. It has also entered a share-purchase agreement to acquire a shipowning company whose principal asset is another 47,499 dwt MR newbuilding scheduled for delivery in Q2 2029.
Closing of the third-vessel transaction is expected by September 30, 2026. Once completed, the newbuild program would give Rubico exposure to the MR product-tanker market in addition to its existing Suezmax fleet.
Rubico currently owns and operates two modern 157,000 dwt Suezmax tankers. Both vessels completed required five-year drydockings during the first half of 2026, temporarily reducing financial performance.
Management quantified the drydocking impact at $4.6 million, consisting of $2.6 million of drydocking costs, $1.5 million of revenue lost during off-hire days and approximately $500,000 of bunkers consumed during those periods.
The company’s megayacht is scheduled for delivery in Q2 2027, but Rubico intends to divest it rather than retain it as a long-term operating asset. That planned sale further concentrates the portfolio around commercial shipping.
For the first six months of 2026, Rubico generated $9.7 million of revenue and $4.1 million of operating cash flow, while reporting a net loss of $1.1 million. Cash and restricted cash totaled $11.6 million, total assets were $149.8 million and stockholders’ equity was $50.5 million.
The three 2029 newbuilds therefore represent the next stage of Rubico’s fleet development, extending the company beyond its two-vessel Suezmax base while management exits a non-core yacht investment.
KEY QUOTES:
“The first half of 2026 was a period of solid operational performance and clear strategic progress for Rubico. The Company’s vessels are required to be drydocked every five years and during the first half of 2026 both of our operating Suezmax tankers completed their drydockings. These drydockings reduced our results by $4.6 million, comprising $2.6 million of drydocking costs, $1.5 million of revenue foregone as a result of the off-hire days incurred during the drydocking period and $0.5 million of bunkers consumed during these off-hire days. At the same time, we continued to build the next phase of the Company. With three high-specification 47,499 dwt MR newbuilding tankers owned or under share purchase agreement for delivery in 2029, we are assembling a modern, fuel-efficient platform across the Suezmax and MR tanker segments, while our intended divestiture of the megayacht further sharpens our focus on our core shipping business.”
Kalliopi Ornithopoulou, President, Chairwoman & Chief Executive Officer of Rubico
