Lois Zabrocky had a very brief response when asked for her reaction to the planned merger of compatriot tanker companies Euronav and Frontline.

But what she did say may put to rest speculation about the future of Tankers International (TI), the pooling venture for VLCCs in which both Euronav and Zabrocky’s International Seaways are key members.

“[I’d say] perhaps just that Euronav has always been a great pool partner and we have spoken,” the International Seaways chief executive told TradeWinds.