A little-known company in Turkey has emerged as playing a role in a string of high-profile tanker deals lately, such as the VLCCs sold by Ridgebury Tankers and a fleet sold by Novellas Union.

Market players suspected Turkish interests had been involved in the $98m sale of a VLCC trio by Ridgebury Tankers right from the beginning.

However, there were no Turkish owners or companies that had listed tankers of this type.