In the cases of both EHLD and CMBT, the acquirer took control of the board of directors, and with it, gained the ability to appoint their own management teams and chart the company’s course going forward.

With two fewer public shipping companies under Fredriksen’s control in a matter of months, speculation is growing. At 80 years old, is JF—the man known simply by his initials—strategically unwinding one of the most remarkable single-generation shipping empires ever built?