Champion Tankers

What Champion Tankers does

Champion Tankers AS is a privately held Norwegian commercial ship operating company headquartered in Bergen, Norway, founded in 2000 by Karl L. Kvalheim and Arne Viste. The company specializes in the Vegoil and Easy Chemical shipping market, commercially operating a fleet of 25 to 30 Medium Range (MR) tankers with IMO type 2/3 Classification worldwide. Its cargo focus spans vegetable oils (Vegoils), liquid fertilizers, easy chemicals, molasses, and clean petroleum products (CPP), with the DVB Bank report "the Charm of Palm" placing the firm in the top two positions globally in the specialized Palm oil trade.

The company's core business is commercial ship operations and commercial management. It represents ship owning companies within the Champion Tankers group as well as third-party owners, providing chartering, voyage execution, sale and purchase, and commercial project services. Revenue is generated through a mix of long-term Contracts of Affreightment (COA) with major industrial charterers, spot market voyages, time charter (T/C) arrangements for chartered-in tonnage, and commercial management fees. The company emphasizes triangular worldwide trading and minimizing ballast legs to consistently outperform average spot-market earnings in its niche segment.

Champion Tankers employs 11 to 50 staff organized into Chartering, Operations, and Finance & Accounting functions, led by Managing Director and shareholder Arne Viste, COO Harald Eikeland, and CFO Tone B. Solstad. The company maintains a compact, relationship-driven enterprise sales model with major industrial charterers in the Vegoil, Easy Chemical, and adjacent trades, and extends its commercial management expertise to closely aligned third-party vessel owners.

Name

Champion Tankers

Legal name

Champion Tankers AS

Website

https://championtankers.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Champion Tankers AS is a privately held Bergen-based commercial ship operator managing 25-30 Medium Range tankers that carry Vegoils, liquid fertilizers, easy chemicals, molasses, and clean petroleum products for major industrial charterers worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Tanker Shipping Services

SIC

Deep Sea Foreign Transportation Of Freight (4412)

akta.pro primary industry

Chemical Tanker Operators (TLADABAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Liquid Bulk / Crude & Product Tanker Operators (VLCC/Suezmax/Aframax/MR) (TLADABAD), Crude Oil & Petroleum Products Tanker Transport (TLADALAA)

Keywords

• Commercial ship operating
• Product tanker shipping
• Tanker chartering services
• Vegoil chemical shipping
• Maritime freight services

Headquarters

HQ city

Bergen

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Commercial ship operating services: Champion Tankers operates as a commercial ship operating company representing ship owning companies in their group and for third parties. Revenue is generated through commercial management fees, freight earnings from COA contracts and spot market voyages, and time charter (T/C) arrangements. The company operates a fleet of 25-30 MR vessels consisting of owned, chartered-in, and commercially managed tonnage.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Champion Tankers AS acts as a commercial ship operating company representing ship owning companies within its group and for third-party owners. It commercially operates a fleet of 25 to 30 Medium Range (MR) Tankers with IMO type 2/3 Classification worldwide, focused on shipping Vegoils, Liquid Fertilizers, Easy Chemicals, Molasses, and Clean Petroleum Products (CPP) through Contracts of Affreightment (COA), spot market transactions, and time charter (T/C) arrangements.

Product overview

Champion Tankers operates as a commercial ship operating company offering a unified set of shipping services focused on Medium Range (MR) Tankers with IMO type 2/3 Classification. The core portfolio consists of commercial vessel operations for transporting Vegoils, Liquid Fertilizers, Easy Chemicals, Molasses, and Clean Petroleum Products (CPP). Services include commercial management for owned and third-party vessels, Contracts of Affreightment (COA), spot market services, and vessel time chartering. The company commercially operates a fleet of 25-30 MR vessels worldwide, combining owned, chartered-in, and commercially managed tonnage.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Commercial Ship Operating Services Commercial ship operating services for Medium Range (MR) Tankers with IMO type 2/3 Classification, offered by Champion Tankers AS as the commercial operator representing ship owning companies in its group and for third-party owners; covers 25-30 MR vessels operating worldwide.
• Commercial Management Services for Third-Party Owners Commercial management services offered to other ship owners with aligned goals and standards, covering chartering, sale and purchase, and commercial projects for MR tankers.
• Vegoil Shipping Services Shipping of vegetable oils (Vegoils), including specialized Palm oil trades, using Medium Range Tankers with IMO type 2/3 Classification; serves major industrial charterers via Contracts of Affreightment and spot market transactions.
• Liquid Fertilizer Shipping Services Shipping of liquid fertilizers using Medium Range Tankers with IMO type 2/3 Classification for industrial charterers.
• Easy Chemicals Shipping Services Transportation of easy chemicals in Medium Range Tankers with IMO type 2/3 Classification, supported by founders' shipbroking expertise in Clean Petroleum Products and Chemical Chartering.
• Clean Petroleum Products (CPP) Shipping Services Shipping of Clean Petroleum Products (CPP) using Medium Range Tankers for industrial charterers, leveraging the founders' shipbroking background in CPP and Chemical Chartering.
• Molasses Shipping Services Transportation of molasses cargo using Medium Range tanker vessels for industrial charterers.
• Contracts of Affreightment (COA) Long-term contractual shipping arrangements with major industrial charterers, providing consistent revenue, triangular worldwide trading capability, and better vessel utilization for Champion Tankers.
• Spot Market Shipping Services Short-term spot market shipping services that complement COA commitments, enabling triangular worldwide trading and providing flexibility for vessel utilization.
• Vessel Time Chartering (T/C) Chartering in of vessels (T/C) for shorter or longer periods, mainly used to cover COA commitments and augment the owned and commercially managed MR fleet.

Quantifiable outcome

• Consistently outperformed average spot-market earnings through better vessel cargo carrying capacity utilization and triangular worldwide trading

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Stolt-Nielsen: Stolt-Nielsen is the world's largest operator of chemical tankers (parcel tanker fleet) plus a tank terminal business. Comparable to Champion as a chemical/food-grade tanker operator with similar end-customers in specialty liquid trades; Champion is a much smaller, nimbler specialist in the same niche.
• Odfjell: Odfjell operates one of the largest chemical tanker fleets globally and manages specialty liquid chemical/parcel trades. Directly comparable to Champion on chemical tanker service, IMO Type 2/3 vessel deployment, and customer base among industrial charterers.
• d'Amico Shipping Group: d'Amico operates MR product tankers in the clean petroleum products and edible oils trades via owned and chartered-in tonnage. Comparable to Champion on vessel class (MR), trade mix (clean products/vegoils), and combined owned-plus-chartered operating model.
• Navig8 Group: Navig8 is one of the largest independent commercial operators and pool managers of product/chemical tankers. Comparable to Champion as an asset-light commercial operator running third-party tonnage in addition to its own vessels in clean/chemical product trades.
• Solvang: Solvang operates a specialized fleet of ethylene and chemical gas carriers. Comparable to Champion on the IMO Type 2/3 chemical/specialty liquid bulk trade, though with a cooler cargo focus; both firms are niche specialists rooted in Norwegian shipping expertise.
• Scorpio Tankers: Scorpio Tankers owns and operates a large MR product tanker fleet serving clean petroleum products and edible oil trades. Overlaps with Champion on vessel class (MR), cargo focus (CPP/vegoils), and customer overlap among industrial charterers.
• Hafnia: Hafnia (formerly Tankers Corp. / part of BW Group) operates one of the world's largest MR/LR product tanker fleets with a focus on CPP and specialty cargoes. Directly comparable on MR tanker deployment and clean product focus.
• Torm: Torm is a major product tanker owner/operator focused on MR tankers in clean petroleum products and similar cargoes. Comparable to Champion on MR tanker class and CPP/clean product trade mix.

Broad incumbents

• Frontline: Frontline is the world's largest publicly listed tanker owner operating VLCCs, Suezmaxes, and LR2 product tankers. Adjacent to Champion through both being tanker operators serving industrial charterers, but materially larger and broader in scope.
• Maersk Tankers: Maersk Tankers is part of A.P. Moller-Maersk and operates one of the world's largest product tanker pools. Comparable on MR product tanker trades, but operates at significantly greater scale and from a much broader corporate platform.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/champion-tankers-as

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Champion Tankers