Tufton Oceanic Assets broke the shipping mould when it completed a $91m initial public offering in London during the final days of 2017.

Not only did it select an unfashionable exchange for shipping companies, it also floated in the specialist fund segment of the London market that had never housed a pure shipping company before.

Present convention was further upended, with the new vehicle aiming to build a diversified fleet of secondhand vessels rather than execute a pure-play project for modern tonnage that is so common today.