General Maritime Corp, which operates crude oil tankers, will acquire Navig8 Crude Tankers Inc in a stock-for-stock deal, the two companies said in a statement.
A newly formed unit of General Maritime will acquire all of Navig8 Crude's common shares to form Gener8 Maritime Inc.
Tanker companies, struggling to cope with poor charter rates, are teaming up to improve efficiency and reduce operating costs, besides adding to their fleets.
General Maritime's deal for Navig8 comes less than five months after Frontline Management and Tankers International formed a chartering joint venture called VLCC Chartering Ltd.
Shareholders of Navig8 Crude, established in December 2013, will receive 0.8947 shares of the combined company for each Navig8 share they hold.
Existing shareholders of General Maritime, which emerged from bankruptcy in 2012 seven months after going under, will own 52.55 percent of the new company and Navig8 Crude shareholders will own the remaining stake.
Gener8 Maritime, which will be headquartered in New York, will have a fleet of 46 vessels, the companies said.
(Reporting By Manya Venkatesh in Bengaluru)