Third-party shipmanagers today cover over 15% of the world fleet with more than 8,700 individual ships under their watch, according to data provided to TradeWinds.

While this leaves almost 50,000 vessels managed by shipowners, specialists describe a market that is seeing increased demand and attracting the attention of institutional investors.

Carl Schou, president and chief executive of Wilhelmsen Ship Management, says: “Compared with the last couple of years, it has definitely picked up, that’s for sure.