Crude tanker giant Euronav is not currently in merger discussions with VLCC firm Frontline, its chief executive has told press.
Hugo De Stoop told Bloomberg on Wednesday that there is nothing currently happening between his firm and the John Fredriksen-backed shipowner.
"There is no proposal on the table. There is no discussion. There is nothing," De Stoop told the newswire.
"If there would ever be a merger between Frontline and Euronav it would be friendly, because we're the best friends in the world."
De Stoop made his comments in response to an earlier report that suggested his company is open to a merger between the two tanker giants.
The Euronav CEO was present at the Global Maritime Forum event in London on Thursday and told TradeWinds it would not be appropriate to make any further comments.
Many of the industry's leading figures are at the forum discussing decarbonisation, seafarer rights and other environment, social and governance (ESG) issues. No Frontline executives are attending.
A spokesperson for Euronav on Thursday reiterated to TradeWinds that no talks with Frontline are underway.
Rumours of a merger have been swirling since it emerged that John Fredriksen has acquired close to 10% of Euronav's shares, which are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and on the Euronext Brussels.
This makes Fredriksen the company's biggest shareholder, beating the 8.3% in treasury stock owned by Euronav itself.
A combination with Euronav would pair Frontline's 69 tankers and $1.8bn market capitalisation with Euronav's fleet of 82 and a share value of $2.4bn.
A combination of the VLCCs in the Frontline and Euronav fleets would give the combined entity a market share of around 8%, according to analysis by Clarkson Platou Securities.
