It has been a year in the making, with the $1.65bn merger with private Diamond S Shipping having to survive a unanimous rejection by the board of US-listed Capital Product Partners last June before getting back on the road to completion.

One of shipping's biggest consolidation plays is set to close today with the combination of Capital Product's tanker fleet with that of Diamond S, and a spin-off of shares that will begin trading immediately under the Diamond S brand on the New York Stock Exchange.