信德海事网-专业海事信息咨询服务平台 登录 | 注册 [ 设为首页 ] [ 加入收藏 ] 中文版 ENGLISH WeChat Mobile --> --> ENGLISH   >   PEOPLE --> [Xinde Interview] Heidmar CEO: “If You Want to Make Real Money, You Want to Be in Tankers.” 2026-03-09 17:00 By： xinde marine news 分享： --> --> --> 评论 --> --> In a shipping market defined by volatility and shifting cycles, tanker exposure is once again drawing outsized attention, largely because of earnings power. In an interview with Xinde Marine News, Pankaj Khanna, CEO of Heidmar, shared his core conviction in plain terms: “For me, tankers are best in the spot market. If you want to make real money, you want to be in tankers.” Khanna stressed that the harder part is not calling a single market move, but building a structure that can remain resilient across cycles, capturing spot upside in strong markets, while protecting downside risk when conditions inevitably turn.   From Pooling to an Asset Manager Xinde Marine News: Heidmar has moved beyond pooling into commercial and technical management, and investments. Was that by design or by necessity? Pankaj Khanna: “Heidmar has been around for more than 40 years—it’s not a new company. It started in the 1980s as a tanker pooling business, alongside a few smaller activities. When I bought the company in November 2020, we were down to just six ships in one pool. I had to restart and rejuvenate the business. Pools work very well when markets are low: shipowners want cash flow and utilisation, so they join. But when markets rise, owners often pull ships out, either to trade spot or sell, and they don’t necessarily time charter them. So I used my background and relationships to reshape Heidmar for the next 40 years, not just one cycle. Pooling alone wouldn’t be enough, which is why we expanded into tanker commercial management, diversified into dry cargo, and built technical management. In effect, we’ve become closer to an asset manager, able to provide expertise across cycles, whether the mark