Clarksons chief executive Andi Case says he wants the headlines to be about the fact Clarksons has generated an “outstanding” result for the first six months of the year amid shipping markets that are a patchwork of everything from decent to mediocre.

Everything else is secondary for the shipbroking group, which booked net profit before tax of £52.2m ($66.4m) for the first six months of 2023 — its best-ever result for the first half of the year.