Information provided to the London Stock Exchange showed the combined company would have logged a profit of £28.4m last year, with operating profit tipping the scales at £47m ($73m).

Hints on future profitability could also be found in the scale of the forward order books of both companies.

Clarksons was revealed to have $100m in forward orders in place at the end of 2013, while Platou’s sat at $57.6m