Greek owner Ionic has ordered four tanker newbuildings at Japanese shipyards as it continues to stick with its long-running focus on Japanese-built tonnage.

The Dimitris Sarakakis-led company has lined up a mix of suezmax and aframax tankers, according to Greek media reports citing comments made by the owner to Japanese media.

No price or delivery dates have been disclosed.

Sarakakis said the move is aimed mainly at fleet renewal rather than expansion, pointing to the need for newer and more efficient vessels as the global tanker fleet continues to age.

The latest order keeps Ionic’s newbuilding focus firmly in Japan, where the company has built up both its tanker and dry bulk fleets.

Ionic Tankers currently lists seven vessels in operation, made up of six aframaxes and one suezmax, all built at Japanese yards including JMU, Sumitomo, Namura and Tsuneishi.

The company’s newest tanker is the 2025-built, 159,120 dwt suezmax Ionic Semeli, delivered by JMU.

Meanwhile, Ionic’s dry bulk arm lists 11 vessels, including kamsarmaxes, ultramaxes and supramaxes, built at Japanese yards such as Imabari, Sasebo, Tsuneishi and Mitsui.

The company was established in 2013 with the aim of building a medium-sized fleet of modern vessels, and has maintained a steady preference for Japanese-built ships across both the tanker and bulker sectors.