Swedish tanker owner Concordia Maritime has agreed more charter deals for Medium Range ECO vessels as it prepares for an expected market upturn.

The company said that, as a part of fleet positioning ahead of the progressively stronger market that is expected, Concordia Maritime has chartered in two more MR (ECO) vessels, while also extending the contracts for two of the currently chartered MR (ECO) vessels by a further year.

Furthermore, the shipowner signed a contract to charter out the P-MAX tanker Stena Performance, which will be used primarily for niche traffic in the Middle East. Concordia Maritime said that the contractual partner is a large global oil company, without revealing any further details.

As with previous charters, these latest contracts are joint charters with Stena Bulk, and Concordia Maritime’s share amounts to 50 percent. The vessels will be operated by the MR pool within Stena Bulk Product & Chemicals, formerly Stena Weco.

The contract for Stena Performance is for six months, with an option for a further six months, and runs from January 2018.

“We are acting based on our firm belief in a progressively stronger market from summer 2018 onwards. By chartering in a total of six vessels (50% each), we have now increased earning capacity significantly in a short period,” Kim Ullman, CEO of Concordia Maritime, said.