Harry N. Vafias-led C3is Inc. has sealed a deal to buy a South Korean-built product tanker with 47,203 deadweight tons (dwt) capacity.

The Athens-based company said it had struck an agreement to acquire the 2011-built vessel for a purchase price of $22.9m, from an entity affiliated with Brave Maritime Corp Inc.

The transaction with Brave Maritime, which is affiliated with members of the Vafias family, was approved by the independent directors of the company, according to C3is, which obtained independent valuations of the vessel, and used the average price of these valuations.

The tanker is expected to be delivered between the first and second quarters of 2026. Under the terms of the deal, the company has the option to pay for the vessel one year after the date of the purchase agreement, without interest.

Following this vessel delivery, and assuming no further acquisitions or dispositions other than the pending product tanker acquisition previously announced, the company’s fleet will total six vessels.

The C3is Inc. fleet will comprise three handysize dry bulk carriers with a total capacity of 97,664 dwt, an aframax oil tanker with a capacity of approximately 115,800-dwt, and two product tankers with a capacity of approximately 97,203-dwt, resulting in a fleet total capacity of 310,667-dwt.