Euronav has completed its $504m merger with Gener8 Maritime, with CEO Paddy Rodgers hailing the deal as an "important milestone" for the company.

It has issued 60.9m new shares to Gener8 shareholders and will begin trading today as an expanded company on the NYSE.

Gener8, formerly led by Peter Georgiopoulos, has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Euronav.

Euronav said on Tuesday 81% of the outstanding shares of Gener8 cast their vote, of which 98% approved the merger.

It now has an operating fleet of 76 crude tankers and two floating storage and offloading vessels.