Consolidation has always been a difficult thing for the highly fragmented, highly ego-driven shipping industry.
Even John Fredriksen’s record-setting $2.35bn acquisition of 24 VLCCs from Euronav is proof of that.
The pending deal came the hard and ugly way following a failed merger attempt that was blocked by an entrenched shareholder, the ouster of an incumbent CEO and then a spate of legal wrangling.
