Belgium’s Euronav is aiming to bring in an experienced investment banker to help seal a merger with John Fredriksen’s Frontline.

The New York and Brussels-listed tanker giant is proposing Steven Smith as a new director at its vital shareholder meeting on 19 May.

Smith will be an independent director, having built a career as an investor through his role as a partner at US-based Aurora Capital Partners and as an investment banker at UBS working in the US and globally.