OceanPal Inc. (OP) Stock :Dives 19% After $120M AI and Blockchain Pivot With NEAR Foundation

TLDR

• OceanPal charts new waters with a $120M AI and blockchain leap.
• Shipping giant OceanPal launches SovereignAI with NEAR tech.
• OceanPal’s bold pivot merges maritime roots with digital futures.
• SovereignAI to power AI cloud using NEAR Protocol and Nvidia tools.
• OceanPal bets big on NEAR tokens to fuel long-term AI innovation.

OceanPal Inc. (NASDAQ: OP) saw its stock plummet by 19.09%, closing at $1.78 after a volatile trading session.

OceanPal Inc., OP

The sharp drop followed the company’s announcement of a $120 million PIPE deal to fund a strategic move into AI and blockchain. The shipping company formed a new subsidiary, SovereignAI Services LLC, to spearhead this digital transition.

The initiative marks a bold diversification from its traditional maritime operations, which it will continue alongside the new venture. OceanPal aims to build blockchain-native infrastructure and digital asset strategies through its partnership with the NEAR Foundation. Despite the stock decline, the firm positioned the move as a high-upside, long-term growth strategy.

SovereignAI plans to use NEAR Protocol’s Layer 1 blockchain to develop a privacy-first AI cloud platform, integrating with Nvidia tools. This new platform targets high-demand sectors like finance, healthcare, and media, aligning with global trends in automation and secure AI. The company intends to scale operations while acquiring a significant position in NEAR’s native token.

NEAR Token: Strategic Focus for SovereignAI’s Treasury and Growth

SovereignAI expects to acquire at least 10% of NEAR token’s total supply over time through active balance sheet deployment. Unlike traditional treasury plays, it plans to reinvest token yields into infrastructure development, rather than holding them passively. This signals a clear shift toward operational execution over speculative asset management.

OceanPal highlighted NEAR’s integrated AI tech stack as uniquely suited for enabling autonomous digital systems with full data privacy controls. The protocol supports agentic commerce, which allows AI to act independently within secure blockchain environments. The NEAR Foundation’s technical and financial support further strengthens the strategic alignment.

NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin will chair SovereignAI’s advisory board, which includes AI, venture, and infrastructure experts from OpenAI, Quicknode, and more. These advisors are tasked with guiding platform deployment and AI integration, thereby creating real-world applications for enterprise adoption. Their combined expertise offers SovereignAI immediate credibility and access to leading-edge resources.

OceanPal’s Executive Overhaul Backs Bold New Direction

OceanPal appointed Sal Ternullo as co-CEO and David Schwed as COO to lead this transformation into the AI and blockchain domain. Ternullo brings experience from State Street, KPMG, and A100x, specializing in emerging technologies and asset strategy. Schwed previously worked in cybersecurity at Galaxy and Robinhood, adding compliance depth.

The executives emphasized the convergence of AI and digital ownership as the core of their strategic vision. They believe that NEAR’s architecture allows scalable, secure AI operations in regulatory-compliant frameworks. This focus aims to make OceanPal a unique public vehicle for exposure to digital infrastructure growth.

While OceanPal continues its core shipping business, this expansion shifts its long-term growth outlook. The dual-operation model positions the firm to benefit from both stable maritime revenues and high-potential tech assets. The market’s reaction shows skepticism, but leadership remains confident in the upside of this pivo

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