Adnoc L&S continues vessel-buying spree + Stellaria raises USD 6.8 mn

Adnoc L&S beefs up its fleet, again

Adnoc L&S orders two more LNG carriers, pushing its fleet to 24 vessels: Adnoc Logistics & Services has exercised options for two additional next-generation LNG carriers from Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai for USD 444 mn, the company said in a disclosure (pdf). Each vessel has a capacity of 175k cbm, with delivery slated for 2029.

Adnoc order rounds out record few weeks of fleet expansion: With this latest commitment, Adnoc L&S has now announced roughly USD 2.7 bn in vessel acquisitions and newbuild orders in 2026 alone. Half of that was locked in over the past few weeks, with the company adding 11 large carriers — five very large gas carriers (VLGCs) and six very large crude carriers (VLCCs) — for around USD 1.3 bn.

Why it matters: Disruptions in the Red Sea and Hormuz have tightened tanker availability — pushing Adnoc to charter around 15 crude carriers to maintain shuttle movements and customer deliveries. Adnoc has also offered cargoes from Fujairah, Zirku Island, and Das Island, and through ship-to-ship transfers at Fujairah and Sohar, giving buyers more ways to lift barrels despite disruptions around Hormuz.

Its LNG carrier fleet now stands at 24 vessels — four legacy ships, six next-generation carriers delivered since 4Q 2024, and 14 more under construction.

Stellaria raises AED 25 mn to scale geospatial AI

UAE-based AI and geospatial intelligence company Stellaria has raised AED 25 mn (USD 6.8 mn) in seed funding from angel investors, valuing the startup at AED 420 mn, according to a press release. The company uses AI to turn satellite and geospatial data into intelligence for areas including maritime activity and environmental monitoring. The funding will help Stellaria scale its team and expand across the UAE and into international markets.

BACKGROUND- The company was formerly known as Farmin and is an alumnus of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund's Innovation Accelerator Program. It recently rebranded as Stellaria and was also building out its product line ahead of this raise. In June, the company launched an AI model called Meruem, aimed at improving satellite imagery quality across optical, SAR, and hyperspectral sensors through super-resolution — part of a broader industry shift toward extracting more value from existing satellite data rather than launching new sensors.