“I’ve never heard of them.”

That was International Seaways chief executive Lois Zabrocky’s initial response after finding herself in an awkward spot on a crude tanker panel at Capital Link’s 15th annual maritime forum in New York on Tuesday.

The “them” Zabrocky referenced were none other than John Fredriksen’s Frontline and Belgian tanker company Euronav, which recently agreed on a deal in which Frontline will pay $2.35bn