Dee4 Capital Partners ApS ("Dee4") was founded in 2019 by Carsten Mortensen (former CEO of BW Group and D/S Norden) and Freddie Lee (former Investment Committee member of Barclays Natural Resource Investments, and co-founder of Hafnia Tankers).
Dee4's first fund (Dee4 Capital Fund I K/S, "Fund I") first closed in June 2019 and final closed in December 2019 at $72 million. We acquired seven MR product tanker vessels between August 2019 and September 2021. As at June 2024, all vessels had been sold and Fund I had returned around 1.9x money (+90%) to investors with a net 26% IRR.
Whilst the investment mandate for Fund I broadly spanned the maritime space, the focus was on the product tanker segment, given the attractive supply and demand dynamics. The investment thesis for Dee4 revolves around acquiring assets with a superior risk-return balance, capitalising on market dislocations where applicable.
From 2021-2, Dee4 took delivery of seven Co-investment vessels, all built at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in South Korea. Two are owned in a joint venture with a Fund I investor and Gunvor Group, whilst the remaining five have been equity funded by another longstanding shipowner investor. These are all fuel-efficient MR tankers and remain in the fleet.
Fund II final closed in March 2025 at $103 million and included many of the investors from Fund I. As at July 2026, Fund II owned four vessels - one MR product tanker and three Ultramax bulk carriers.
To date, Dee4 has raised over $280 million equity capital to deploy in the maritime sector.
