US investment giant BlackRock has become the second-largest shareholder in John Fredriksen-controlled tanker company Frontline. The move follows a similar investment in Fredriksen’s bulker giant Golden Ocean Group in September. A filing to the Oslo Stock Exchange reveals BlackRock has amassed a stake of 5.13%, a slice worth $153m. The stock was trading at $13.38 per share in New York on Tuesday, up more than 6% from the prior day’s close. The share has risen from $7.57 at the start of the year in much better tanker markets.

Frontline chief executive Lars Barstad told TradeWinds he welcomed BlackRock as a significant shareholder at a time when the “fundamentals of our market are starting to shine through in earnings. Exciting months and years ahead. Frontline has the luxury of being the ‘go-to’ name in respect of tankers, being a household name to Wall Street with our transparent operational model and focus on maximizing shareholder value,” he added. The CEO said the same applies to Golden Ocean.

Frontline, which is listed in both New York and Oslo, is currently trying to tie-up a big combination with Belgian partner Euronav. Last month, US investment bank Goldman Sachs revealed it was holding a 5.26% stake in Frontline. The disclosures were classed as a “newly disclosable position” because of changes to the European Union’s substantial shareholding rules relating to transparency on 1 September. But the filing did not necessarily mean the investment bank controlled the shares. In March, the group made a similar filing about passing the 5% threshold in Oslo-listed MPC Container Ships, but it later emerged that this stake was being held on behalf of other unnamed investors. On Tuesday, Goldman Sachs said it now has 5.02% in Frontline, after several adjustments in the last few weeks.

BlackRock ranks ahead of Norwegian pension fund Folketrygdfondet on 5.28%. Fredriksen himself controls about 36% of Frontline. BlackRock has a little less than 5% in Golden Ocean. The shareholding places it behind only Fredriksen himself, who controls 39% of the company. Folketrygdfondet has a 3.79% slice and Goldman Sachs has 3.37%. BlackRock has not commented. The company is the world’s largest asset manager, with $10trn in assets under its watch. The fund has a 7.1% stake in US-listed bulker operator Genco Shipping & Trading. Last year, BlackRock also strengthened its position as one of the biggest shareholders in UK shipbroker Clarksons. According to a regulatory filing, the New York-based company increased its stake to 5.38% in the London-listed group on 30 November.

In July 2021, BlackRock had significantly reduced its stake in Irish product tanker owner Ardmore Shipping. The company sold nearly 1.7m shares, according to regulatory filings, whittling down its position from 2.2m shares to 495,717. According to Ardmore’s annual report, Blackrock was the company’s second-largest shareholder, with 6.6% of all shares and behind Aristotle Capital Boston’s 3.6m shares.