OceanPal sells remaining vessels to Paliou affiliate in pivot to crypto and AI

Greek shipowner Semiramis Paliou has taken back OceanPal’s remaining fleet through an affiliated company, closing the shipping chapter of a business spun off from Diana Shipping less than five years ago. Nasdaq-listed OceanPal announced that it sold its entire interest in shipowning subsidiary OP Vessel Holdco to Sezali Inc on July 31. Sezali is affiliated with Paliou, OceanPal’s former chairwoman and the current chief executive of Diana Shipping. However, Diana Shipping itself was not the buyer. The transaction covered the 2005-built Panamax bulk carriers Calipso and Melia, the 2009-built MR2 tanker Zeze Start and OceanPal’s stake in Norwegian joint venture RFSea Infrastructure II. That venture is involved in two 6,600-deadweight-tonne, methanol-ready stainless-steel chemical tanker newbuildings. No cash changed hands. Instead, OceanPal received all 12,185 outstanding shares of its 8 per cent Series C preferred stock for cancellation, while $5 million of promissory notes were also cancelled. No common shares were issued and none of OceanPal’s NEAR cryptocurrency holdings were sold. The preferred shares carried an aggregate liquidation preference of $12.19 million and generated annual dividend obligations of almost $975,000. Together with the cancelled notes, the instruments had a combined face value of about $17.19m. Nevertheless, that figure should not be treated as a conventional sale price, as OceanPal has not disclosed a current fleet valuation, the liabilities held within the subsidiary or the final accounting treatment. The company’s unaudited results valued its vessels at approximately $40.8m at the end of 2025. OceanPal has also warned that the accounting measurement of the transaction could differ from its initial expectations and that indemnification or contingent liabilities may remain. Given Sezali’s connection to Paliou, as well as the fact that certain OceanPal directors held Series C shares, the deal was approved by the company’s independent and disinterested directors. Paliou resigned as OceanPal’s chairwoman and director in October 2025, shortly before the company began its transformation into a digital asset and artificial intelligence business. The sale therefore closes a circle in Greek shipping. OceanPal was incorporated in the Marshall Islands by Diana Shipping in April 2021 and listed on Nasdaq following its separation from the Athens-based shipowner in November of that year. Although legally incorporated overseas, OceanPal’s latest audited annual report placed its executive offices in Palaio Faliro, Athens, while the latest transaction announcement was issued from Athens and New York. Paliou, who is also a member of the Union of Greek Shipowners and chairwoman of the Hellenic Marine Environment Protection Association, led OceanPal from its creation until the crypto shift began. There is no disclosed Cypriot company or Cyprus-flagged vessel involved in the latest sale. The three ships transferred to Sezali were registered in the Marshall Islands, while the chemical tanker venture is Norwegian. However, OceanPal previously had a direct connection to the Cyprus shipping registry. Its former Capesize bulker Salt Lake City sailed under the Cyprus flag and was owned through Marfort Navigation Company Limited, a Cyprus-incorporated subsidiary. OceanPal agreed to sell the vessel to a third party for $16.1m in January 2025, with the disposal completed the following month. Paliou is also familiar to Cyprus’ maritime community, having participated in the Maritime Cyprus conferences in 2023 and 2025. During the latest event in Limassol, she joined leading Greek and Cypriot shipowners for a panel discussion on changes facing the industry. Following the fleet disposal, OceanPal’s only operating business is SovereignAI Services, which manages a treasury concentrated in NEAR, the native cryptocurrency of the NEAR Protocol blockchain, and develops infrastructure for secure and autonomous artificial intelligence. The pivot began in October 2025, when OceanPal raised $120m from investors and announced plans to acquire at least 10 per cent of the total supply of NEAR tokens. By April 2026, the company controlled more than 55 million NEAR tokens, including tokens pledged as collateral, representing approximately 4.3 per cent of supply. The holdings were then valued at $73.5m and were generating a gross annualised staking yield of around 5 per cent. Sal Ternullo, OceanPal’s co-chief executive and chair, said the company was now built around “common stock, minimal preferred shares, no debt, no ships, and a treasury of NEAR”. However, the transformation comes with considerable exposure to cryptocurrency prices. OceanPal has acknowledged that its share price may become closely linked to the value of NEAR, while regulatory changes could also affect its strategy. Meanwhile, the company has yet to file its annual report for 2025 and remains out of compliance with a Nasdaq reporting rule. Completing that filing and restoring compliance will now be among the first tests for OceanPal’s new life after shipping.