Hugo De Stoop: “With a new Supervisory Board and strong representation from the two core shareholders, now is an appropriate time for Euronav to open a new chapter in its development.”
For those that like ongoing sagas, the Euronav drama continues to ship. Today, John Fredriksen’s Frontline plc (NYSE: FRO – OSE: FRO) reported that emergency arbitration claims filed by Euronav on January 18, had been totally dismissed by the emergency arbitrator.
Euronav had filed the emergency request in an try to droop Frontline’s determination to terminate the tanker mega merger mixture deal between the 2 corporations introduced in April final yr.
Frontline stated right now that, along with totally dismissing the claims, the Emergency Arbitrator had ordered Euronav to pay Frontline all prices of the Emergency Arbitration proceedings, together with full compensation for authorized prices incurred.
As those that have been following the cleaning soap opera will recall, the merger has been strongly opposed by the Saverys household and their Compagnie Maritime Belge (CMB) and, on March 23, Euronav will maintain the particular common assembly requested by CMB at which the principle merchandise on the agenda will probably be whether or not to exchange your complete Euronav board with a slate of CMB nominees.
In its press launch on the choice, Euronav omitted the bit about having to pay the prices, however stated that solely a request for arbitration on the deserves that it filed January 28 will determine on the deserves of the validity of the termination.
Meantime, after all, regardless of all these distractions, Euronav has continued to function as a tanker firm and on February 2 it reported fourth quarter results that noticed it ship its highest earnings since second quarter 2020.
“Constrained vessel supply conditions within all segments of the large crude tanker market were supplemented further by two key factors during Q4 2022,” stated CEO Hugo De Stoop. “Firstly, seasonal demand for crude gained traction as consumption rose into the 22/23 winter. Secondly, the EU embargo on Russian oil, effective 5 December 2022, created additional shipping demand as crude trading patterns required longer voyages and therefore captured more shipping capacity. These supportive catalysts helped drive freight rates to a 30-month high and we believe that the solid base of sector fundamentals (orderbook, fleet age, incoming regulations) will continue to underpin positive conditions within the tanker market for multiple quarters ahead.”
“Recent events have also been dynamic but have never affected the operational performance of the company as we remain focused and committed to maintain our position of market leadership and have managed to rejuvenate the fleet at a critical time in the market cycle both in buying and ordering modern vessels at good prices as well as be patient and dispose of older assets when the value became interesting,” stated De Stoop. “Whilst we regret the current situation, we will continue to act professionally and to work to a solution which is in the interests of all of our shareholders and stakeholders.”
