Stena Sonangol Suezmax Pool celebrates its 20th anniversary

The Stena Sonangol Suezmax Pool (SSSP), a joint venture between leading tanker shipping company Stena Bulk and the Angolan state-owned oil company Sonangol celebrates its 20^th year anniversary, marking two decades of successful partnership, driving progress and high-level partnership in the global Suezmax tanker segment.

Established in 2005, the Stena Sonangol Suezmax Pool was founded on a joint vision to create a modern, efficient, and collaborative Suezmax tanker pool capable of navigating market volatility while consistently delivering value and transparency to shipowners and charterers.

Over twenty years, the pool has evolved from a joint venture between the two founding partners, Stena Bulk and Sonanagol, into a fully open, globally recognised pool, welcoming other quality Suezmax owners who share the pool’s commitment to quality, safety, and operational excellence.

Today, the pool operates a fleet of 22 high-quality, fuel-efficient Suezmax tankers with a combined deadweight of 3.47 million DWT and an average vessel age of 11 years, maintaining one of the most capable fleets in its segment.

Johan Jäwert, Co-Pool Manager of the Stena Sonangol Suezmax Pool and Head of Stena Bulk USA, said: “This anniversary is not only a celebration of our partnership but a testament to our adaptability to the market. Since 2005, we’ve navigated a changing world, regulatory transformation, and new technologies, but the foundation of the Stena Sonangol Suezmax Pool has remained the same: collaboration, transparency, and therefore, shared success.”

Aderito Pereira, Co-Pool Manager of the Stena Sonangol Suezmax Pool, added: “Two decades on, our strength continues to come from the people, onboard and ashore, who uphold our shared values daily. We have offices in Houston, Gothenburg, and Singapore, our teams bring unmatched experience, and commitment to delivering for our customers. We are proud of what we’ve achieved, and even more excited for what’s ahead.”

Through shared scale and collective market insight, SSSP offers participating shipowners access to trading expertise, higher efficiency by increased fleet utilisation, and economies of scale through port calls, bunkering, and logistics, while maintaining full transparency through its pool point system.

The pool’s use of Orbit MI, a digital performance and analytics platform, has been instrumental in improving operational efficiency and reducing the environmental footprint of its fleet. The system allows for real-time monitoring, optimisation, and collaboration between pool partners, and improves transparency towards charterers.

Beyond fleet and performance, the pool has made significant contributions to maritime training and development. The Stena Sonangol Suezmax Pool has helped to establish a maritime training centre in Angola, supporting world-class training for future seafarers and contributing to local skills development

In celebration of the 20^th anniversary of the Stena Sonangol Suezmax Pool, events were hosted in London and Houston, bringing together customers and partners to mark two decades of collaboration and success.