A chance meeting on a plane flight sowed the seeds for two Singapore owners to pool their stainless-steel chemical tanker fleets this month.

The goal was to form a single platform that Golden Stena Baycrest Tankers (GSB Tankers) and IMC Shipping’s Aurora Tankers expect will fuel future fleet growth in the niche segment.

GSB chairman Bjorn Stignor and IMC Shipping managing director Frederik Guttormsen were competitors when fate assigned them their seats on a flight from Houston, Texas, to Singapore.