Leading tanker shipping company Stena Bulk has today announced that Stena Imperator has been officially registered under the Swedish flag. This follows the reflagging of the Suezmax tanker Stena Superior in Shenzhen, China, last month. These are the fourth and fifth reflaggings completed under the programme Stena Bulk announced in July 2025 to bring vessels into the Swedish Register of Shipping. Stena Imperator's reflagging was completed yesterday in San Francisco. The 49,690 dwt product and chemical tanker was built by Guangzhou Shipbuilding International (GSI) and delivered in 2017.
It is the first vessel of Stena Bulk's IMOIIMAX design to join the programme. When Stena Bulk announced the programme, Sweden had no large tankers on its national ship register. The programme was designed to strengthen Sweden's maritime sector and its competitiveness as a flag state, support the country's national preparedness and strategic resilience, and create opportunities for Swedish seafarers.
It followed recent reforms that have made the Swedish register more competitive, including the removal of stamp duty, a competitive tonnage tax and an improved Ship Register.
Erik Hånell, President and CEO of Stena Bulk, said: "Stena Superior and Stena Imperator take our reflagging programme to five vessels. Bringing an IMOIIMAX into the Swedish register alongside our Suezmaxes is an important step. Completing these reflaggings in China and the United States, alongside the vessels' normal trading, shows how well established this process has become. That it has happened so smoothly is a credit to our crews and onshore teams, and to the close cooperation we continue to have with the Swedish authorities and maritime unions. "
Every vessel brought into the Swedish register strengthens Sweden's presence in international tanker shipping, its national preparedness and its maritime expertise, and we are proud to continue to play a part in that." The latest reflaggings mark further progress in a programme that shows how public-private cooperation can rebuild Sweden's role in global shipping.
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