Sale and purchase markets saw record activity in 2017 with bulker and boxship capacity changing hands at previously unseen volumes, says Clarksons Research.

Provisional data from the world’s largest shipbroker shows vessels of a combined 93.2 million deadweight involved in S&P deals in 2017.

Steve Gordon, managing director of Clarksons Research, says this marks a 31% rise from 2016.

The new record puts the level of tonnage transacted above previous peaks of 84m dwt in 2014 and the pre-crash summit of 83m dwt set in 2007, Gordon explains.