OceanPal, a Nasdaq-listed shipping company, has launched a new subsidiary, SovereignAI, with a $120 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) to advance AI and crypto infrastructure. The initiative involves a partnership with the NEAR Foundation to develop a NEAR-based digital asset vault and a confidential AI cloud platform. OceanPal plans to acquire NEAR tokens, targeting a long-term holding of at least 10% of the total supply. The investment round attracted notable backers, including Kraken, Proximity, Fabric Ventures, the G20 Group, and the NEAR Foundation. SovereignAI's advisory board features prominent figures such as Illia Polosukhin. Despite this new venture, OceanPal will continue its operations in the dry bulk and tanker sectors while expanding into blockchain and AI technologies.