Germany’s United Product Tankers (UPT) has closed up shop after experiencing difficulties securing tonnage for commercial management and pooling. The Hamburg-based outfit of the Columbia Group recently ceased its operations after 21 years in the business, citing the impact of positive sentiment in the product tanker segment that has led its clients to either cash in on their assets or look into alternative trades. UPT noted that in such a scenario, commercial pools in general have become less relevant and that all pool operators are facing similar issues, adding further that concurrently, major oil traders have accumulated vessels through time charters at elevated levels and have now become operators. “In this environment of inflated values and strong competition, it has become increasingly difficult for smaller companies, such as UPT, to attract new business/clients or develop the business in general,” the company added. Established in 2003 with additional offices in Stamford and Limassol, UPT managed and ran pools of product tankers between 33.000 dwt and 75.000 dwt. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1_95_0_1_2'); }); TagsGermany