Image: Top Ships Inc

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Top Ships Inc, the owner of fuel-efficient, medium-range (MR) 'Eco' tanker vessels for the transportation of petroleum products and bulk liquid chemicals, has announced that sea trials of its newbuild ship M/T Eco Palm Desert have been completed successfully and delivery from the Hyundai shipyard is expected on September 7, as planned.

Greece-based Top Ships owns a young fleet of eight fuel-efficient 'Eco' tanker vessels, with a further two newbuilds (Eco Palm Desert, Eco Holmby Hills) slated for delivery in 2018, and four ships (Eco California, Eco Marina del Rey, Eco Bel Air and Eco Beverley Hills) scheduled to be completed next year - brining the total number of vessels to 14. The oldest ship in the fleet is the 2014-built Monoikos/Stenaweco Energy.

The last vessel to enter the company's fleet was the jointly owned (with Gunvor) Eco Palm Springs, which was delivered towards the end of May and chartered out to Clearlake Shipping.

The other seven ships currently in operation have been chartered out to BP Shipping (Eco Fleet and Eco Revolution), Stena Bulk (Monoikos/Stenaweco Energy, Ecomaxx/Stenaweco Evolution, Ecotank/Stenaweco Excellence and Eco Seven DPS/Stenaweco Elegance) and Norden (Ecoship/Nord Valiant).

The soon-to-be-delivered Eco Palm Desert has already been secured by Central Tankers Chartering; the Eco Holmby Hills (50 percent owned with Gunvor) has been contracted to Clearlake Shipping; the Eco California will be taken on by Shell; the Eco Bel Air and Eco Beverley Hills (hull numbers S874 and S875) are due to enter into time-charter employment with an unnamed oil major; and the Eco Marina del Rey is to be chartered by Cargill.